Which domain is worth the most?

Troubleshooting at 28% and Hardware at 25%. Start there, and keep coming back: the heaviest domains decide most pass and fail results.

How long should I plan for?

Set aside five to eight weeks at about five focused hours a week, then let a full practice sitting decide your exam date. If you already work in IT, the first weeks move faster. Do not book until a fresh sitting, with questions you have not seen, lands above the pass mark.

What score do I need to pass?

You need 675 on the 100 to 900 scale. Keep a margin above that in practice, because exam-day stress costs a few points.

Learn connectors and cables by sight. Identification questions reward people who handled the parts.

Do I need hands-on experience?

Helpful, not required. The browser labs let you practise the hands-on tasks without a server or a rack, and each lab grades the end state rather than the exact command you typed.

Are the practice questions the same as the real test?

No. SecLern questions are written originally for this site and mapped to the published objectives. They are never copied from a real exam.

What should I do the week before the exam?

Take one full simulation early in the week and review every miss. Spend the middle of the week on the two domains that scored lowest, then stop adding new material 48 hours out. Confirm your appointment and ID, sleep, and read the goal line twice on every performance task.

Is this page current?

This page is built against Exam Objectives Version 2.0 (2.0), verified 2026-10-16. Exam owners change objectives and retirement dates, so confirm the date for your language before you book.

CertificationsA+

CompTIA · 220-1201

CompTIA A+ Core 1 220-1201

CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201) is the hardware half of the A+: motherboards, RAM, storage, displays, printers, mobile devices, and the networking basics every technician needs. It is the usual first exam for people entering IT.

Career changers with no IT background, students aiming at help-desk roles, and anyone who wants to stop guessing when a PC will not boot.

Study 220-1201 free

See labs Check version dates

Version status

CompTIA has not published a date. Three years after launch is an estimate.

Retires: Estimated 2028

Where the marks live

Domain weights from the current 220-1201 objectives. Start with the heaviest slice, not the first chapter.

Troubleshooting leads at 28%

28%Troubleshooting

How much study time does 220-1201 need?

Pick the closest starting point. The range below is a planning estimate, not a promise or a pass prediction.

50 to 70 hoursat a steady pace

That is up to 14 weeks at 5 hours a week, or 9 weeks at 8 hours. Some IT background, but the exam material is still new.

Estimate only. Based on the exam level and a study-pace assumption. Your background, exam date and practice scores will move it.

A study plan that works

Order matters

Learn connectors and cables by sight. Identification questions reward people who handled the parts.
Pair each component with its failure symptoms (beeps, no-POST, overheating) as you go.
Drill the troubleshooting steps in order. Core 1 loves best-next-step questions.
Do the PC-build and SOHO-router labs before your first full sitting.

Try one question

Live demo

Demo questionHardware and network troubleshooting

A desktop powers on. The fans spin, but there is no display and the motherboard emits one long beep followed by two short beeps. What should you check first?

Written for this page. It is a teaching demo, not an item from the question bank or the real exam.

Try the hands-on shape

About 2 minutes

A user says the monitor shows 'no signal', but the PC fans spin and the keyboard lights come on. What is the best first check?

Demo preview. A teaching model with fixed sample data, not the real lab. Full labs run in the browser with checkable steps.

Practice a performance question

37 performance-based questions are written for CompTIA A+ Core 1 220-1201. They ask you to do the task in a simulated console, table or form, and they grade in parts, so a half-right answer still earns credit.

How performance questions are scored

Sample performance questionMatch each task to the control or service

A Linux script refuses to run: Permission denied

A workstation has 169.254.x.x and no internet

A switch port shows no link light

A teaching demo written for this page. It is not a real exam item, and nothing here is saved.

This matching sample is local and ungraded. The full set is included in practice for this exam.

Common traps

Ways smart people lose points on this exam.

Memorizing specs without symptoms. The exam asks what is wrong, not what the part is called.
Skipping printers and mobile devices because they feel niche. They are guaranteed questions.
Guessing on safety questions. Power, ESD, and disposal answers are almost always the cautious ones.

Practise 220-1201, three ways

Every lab is a job task in the tool that job uses, graded on the end state you leave behind. The PBQ pages explain the performance formats this exam uses and open one real scenario in the browser. The practice test gives you fifteen questions with a reason for every option.

Open the 220-1201 labs

Objectives by domain

Every published 220-1201 objective, grouped by the domain that carries it. The wording stays with CompTIA.

27 objectives

Mobile devices13% of the exam

1.1Mobile hardware repair
1.2Mobile accessories
1.3Mobile connectivity

Networking23% of the exam

2.1Ports & protocols
2.2Wireless tech
2.3Network services
2.4Network configuration
2.5Network hardware
2.6SOHO networks
2.7Connection types
2.8Networking tools

Hardware25% of the exam

3.1Displays
3.2Cables & connectors
3.3RAM
3.4Storage
3.5Motherboards & CPUs
3.6Power supplies
3.7Printers
3.8Printer maintenance

Virtualization and cloud11% of the exam

4.1Virtualization
4.2Cloud concepts

Troubleshooting28% of the examStart here

5.1Board & power issues
5.2Drive & RAID issues
5.3Display issues
5.4Mobile issues
5.5Network issues
5.6Printer issues

The full entry for each objective (the explainer, key terms, traps and practice questions) lives in the Study Book. One objective per certification is free to read; Pro opens the rest.

Questions about this exam

90 questions in 90 minutes. 675 to pass on the 100 to 900 scale. Domains: Mobile devices (13%), Networking (23%), Hardware (25%), Virtualization and cloud (11%), Troubleshooting (28%).

Study 220-1201 with your weak spots in view

Daily sessions that aim at your gaps, hands-on labs, and full simulations under the real clock. Free to start.

Start studying free

Free tier, no card. Pro starts with a 7-day trial; a card is required and you can cancel before day 7.