Free CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201) practice test
10 free practice questions with full explanations — no account needed. Answer each one to see whether you got it right and why. When you're done, keep going with the full bank.
A technician is servicing a thin-and-light laptop that arrives with the bottom panel slightly bowed and the trackpad difficult to click. The user reports the laptop became unusually warm while charging overnight. The technician must minimize fire risk and avoid damaging components during service. What is the BEST next step?
A swollen/bulging battery is a serious safety hazard and can rupture, catch fire, or explode if mishandled. The correct response is to immediately stop use and charging, isolate the device away from flammables, handle it minimally, and proceed with safe service and proper hazardous disposal. Puncturing or compressing a swollen battery can trigger thermal runaway. Continuing to charge (even slowly) increases risk. Cooling may temporarily reduce temperature but does not correct internal gas generation and can add condensation risks; it does not make the battery safe to use.
A technician is replacing an internal battery in a modern tablet that is secured with strong adhesive. The tablet is disconnected from external power. The technician must reduce the risk of electrical hazards and prevent thermal runaway during disassembly. Which sequence is BEST?
Internal batteries are often held with adhesive, and controlled heat can help soften adhesive for safer removal. The safest practice is to use non-metal tools, disconnect the battery connector from the system board as early as possible to reduce electrical hazards, and avoid puncturing or bending the battery because physical damage can lead to thermal runaway. Metal prying tools increase the chance of shorting or puncturing cells. Keeping the battery connected longer increases risk during disassembly. Excessive continuous heat can exceed safe temperatures and increase degradation or hazard, and forceful removal increases the chance of puncture.
A user reports their phone shows 35% battery remaining but shuts down unexpectedly and then reboots showing 5% battery. The device is not swollen and charges normally. A technician suspects the issue is inaccurate capacity reporting rather than lost capacity. Which procedure is MOST appropriate to correct the reporting?
The symptoms (unexpected shutdown with incorrect percentage) align with miscalibrated battery reporting. The recommended calibration process is: charge to 100% and keep it connected for 1–2 hours, discharge until it powers off, leave it off for several hours for voltage settling, then recharge to 100% uninterrupted. Draining to 0% repeatedly is based on legacy NiCd “memory effect” advice and does not apply to lithium batteries; it can increase stress. Fast charging increases heat and can accelerate degradation; it does not fix reporting accuracy. Storing at 100% increases chemical stress and does not recalibrate accurately.
A laptop user complains of rapid battery drain after installing several new apps. Battery health shows normal capacity, but the device never seems to enter a low-power state. The technician must identify a likely cause and apply the least invasive fix first. Which action is BEST?
Rapid drain following new app installs strongly suggests software-related causes such as background applications, excessive syncing, scanning services, or poorly designed apps preventing proper sleep states. The least invasive best-first step is to check battery usage statistics to identify the culprit and then limit background activity or remove the problematic apps. Replacing the battery is premature when health is normal. Disabling the BMS is unsafe and not a valid troubleshooting step. Increasing brightness increases power draw and worsens runtime.
A technician is asked to determine whether a replacement laptop battery can be carried on an airplane without special approval. The replacement battery is labeled 15.2V and 6600mAh. Based on the label, which value should the technician calculate, and what is the result?
Air travel compliance commonly references the battery’s energy capacity in watt-hours (Wh). Wh is calculated using Wh = (V × mAh) / 1000. For 15.2V and 6600mAh: (15.2 × 6600) / 1000 = 100.32Wh. That is slightly above 100Wh, which may require special approval depending on airline/regulations. The other choices use incorrect formulas or confuse voltage with capacity. Charge cycles are unrelated to carry-on energy limits.
A technician is troubleshooting an ultrabook that intermittently freezes and logs disk errors. A S.M.A.R.T. utility shows a very low Wear Leveling Count and rapidly increasing Reallocated Sector Count. The device uses an M.2 SSD and is still under warranty. What is the MOST appropriate next action given the risk and constraints?
The low Wear Leveling Count combined with increasing Reallocated Sector Count indicates an SSD nearing end-of-life or defective, putting data at immediate risk. The correct action is to immediately back up or clone the data and replace the drive under warranty. Running chkdsk or reinstalling the OS does not address the underlying physical degradation, and a BIOS update is unsupported by the scenario.
While replacing storage in a thin laptop, a technician removes an M.2 drive secured by a single screw. After removing the screw, the drive lifts at an angle. What is the correct technique to remove the drive without causing damage?
M.2 drives are designed to be removed by sliding them straight out of the connector at the angle created by spring tension after the retaining screw is removed. Pulling upward or rotating downward risks damaging the connector or card.
A laptop becomes extremely slow and emits a repetitive clicking noise during operation. Disk performance monitoring shows high disk queue length and low throughput. Based on these symptoms, what is the MOST likely cause?
Clicking noises are a hallmark of mechanical failure in HDDs, caused by failing read/write heads or platters. Combined with poor performance metrics, this strongly indicates HDD failure rather than SSD-related or software issues.
A customer wants to upgrade a three-year-old laptop with slow boot times. The system currently uses a 2.5-inch 5400 RPM SATA HDD, and the service manual confirms an available M.2 slot that supports PCIe x4. The customer wants the maximum performance improvement with minimal reconfiguration. What solution BEST meets these requirements?
An M.2 NVMe SSD uses the PCIe bus, providing significantly higher performance than SATA-based options. Cloning minimizes user reconfiguration. A 2.5-inch SATA SSD or higher RPM HDD would offer less performance gain, and using the HDD as the boot drive negates the benefit of the NVMe slot.
A technician is selecting an M.2 replacement drive for a laptop that only supports SATA communication in its M.2 slot. Which keying configuration ensures compatibility without exceeding the slot’s capabilities?
A B+M keyed M.2 drive supports SATA communication and fits slots keyed for SATA, ensuring compatibility while avoiding unsupported NVMe performance expectations. M-keyed and U.2 NVMe options require PCIe/NVMe support not present in this scenario.
What 220-1201 covers
Mobile devices, networking, hardware, virtualization & cloud, and hardware/network troubleshooting.
220-1201 practice test — FAQ
How many questions are on the CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201) exam?
The real 220-1201 exam has a maximum of 90 questions with a 90-minute time limit.
What is the passing score for 220-1201?
You need 675 / 900 to pass 220-1201. CompTIA scores on a scale of 100–900.
Is this 220-1201 practice test free?
Yes — these 10 practice questions are completely free and require no account.
Are these real CompTIA exam questions?
No. These are original practice questions written to the official 220-1201 objectives — real exam questions are confidential. They mirror the exam's style and difficulty.
Where can I get more 220-1201 practice?
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