CompTIA A+ common mistakes
CompTIA A+ · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
On a scenario describing enforced screen locks, remote wipe, and app deployment across a fleet of phones, they answer "configure the corporate IMAP/POP3 account" instead of "enroll the devices in an MDM solution."
Mobile email setup gets drilled as port-and-server trivia, so any mention of corporate mail triggers a mail-protocol answer even when the stem is really about managing the device.
What to do instead
Read the stem for management verbs - enforce, wipe, deploy, restrict, approve. Those map to MDM/MAM features (remote wipe, passcode policy, app distribution, root/jailbreak detection, containerization), not to mail protocols. Only choose IMAP/POP3/SMTP when the stem names a mail server and asks about sync.
They pick "enable mobile hotspot" for a laptop that the stem says is connected to the phone with a USB cable.
"Tethering" and "hotspot" are used interchangeably in everyday speech, so the distinction disappears under exam pressure.
What to do instead
Tethering is the umbrella term for sharing the phone's data connection and can run over USB, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. Hotspot/AP mode specifically means the phone broadcasts a Wi-Fi SSID. Cable or "paired over Bluetooth" in the stem means tethering; "other devices join a Wi-Fi network" means hotspot. Also remember Bluetooth tethering is the slowest of the three and a Wi-Fi hotspot drains the battery fastest.
They pick a neighboring port - 443 for secure IMAP instead of 993, 21 for SFTP instead of 22, 22 for RDP instead of 3389.
Ports are memorized as a flat list of number/name pairs, so at recall time the closest familiar number wins.
What to do instead
Memorize in families with their secure twins: mail SMTP 25/587 and 465, POP3 110/995, IMAP 143/993; remote access Telnet 23, SSH 22, RDP 3389, VNC 5900; web 80/443; directory LDAP 389/636; file FTP 20/21, SFTP 22, SMB 445. When two answer choices are both mail ports, check whether the stem says secure/TLS or not.
They choose Cat 5e for a 10 Gbps run of 100 meters, or answer "switch to the 2.4 GHz band" to fix a congested, slow WLAN.
Answers get matched on the keywords "fast" or "long range" while the numeric constraints in the stem are skimmed.
What to do instead
Keep a spec table in memory: Cat 5e 1 Gbps/100 m; Cat 6 10 Gbps to roughly 55 m; Cat 6a 10 Gbps/100 m; fiber for long runs or heavy EMI. For wireless, 2.4 GHz means better range, more interference, and only channels 1/6/11 non-overlapping; 5 GHz means shorter range but many more channels and better behavior in dense areas. Re-read every distance, speed, and device-count number before answering.
Asked for the cheapest 4-drive array that survives a single drive failure with the most usable capacity, they choose RAID 10 over RAID 5.
RAID is learned as a list of level numbers, so "bigger number = better" and the capacity math gets skipped.
What to do instead
Drill capacity and tolerance together: RAID 0 uses 100% of capacity with zero redundancy; RAID 1 uses 50% and survives one drive; RAID 5 uses n-1 drives, survives one, needs 3+; RAID 6 uses n-2, survives two, needs 4+; RAID 10 uses 50%, survives one per mirror pair, needs 4+. "Most capacity with redundancy" points to RAID 5; "fastest rebuild" or "best write performance" points to RAID 10.
They recommend an NVMe M.2 SSD for a laptop whose board only exposes a B-keyed SATA M.2 slot.
"M.2" is treated as a single standard, so any M.2 drive looks compatible.
What to do instead
M.2 is only a form factor. Check three things: keying (B, M, or B+M), the bus (SATA vs NVMe/PCIe), and the length (2242/2260/2280). An M key carries PCIe/NVMe, a B key commonly carries SATA, and B+M fits either slot but the slot still decides which bus you actually get. If the stem names a SATA-only slot, the answer must be a SATA M.2 drive (or a 2.5-inch SATA drive).
They call a browser-based vendor-hosted email and collaboration suite "IaaS," or call a virtual machine the customer patches themselves "SaaS."
The three cloud service models are memorized as words rather than as a boundary of responsibility.
What to do instead
Apply the "what does the customer still manage" test: SaaS - only data and configuration (email, CRM, file sync); PaaS - the application code and its settings, while the provider runs the OS and runtime (managed app platform, managed database); IaaS - the OS and everything above it (provisioned VMs, storage, virtual network). Any scenario that mentions installing or patching an OS cannot be SaaS.
A scenario describing a technician running VirtualBox on a Windows workstation is answered as a "Type 1 / bare-metal" hypervisor.
Type 1 is the more impressive-sounding term, so it gets chosen whenever virtualization comes up.
What to do instead
Anchor on where the hypervisor sits. Type 1 installs directly on hardware and needs no host OS (ESXi, Hyper-V Server, Xen - datacenter and VDI). Type 2 is an application on top of a host OS (VirtualBox, VMware Workstation, Parallels - desktop testing). If the stem first mentions Windows, macOS, or Linux already being present, it is Type 2. Also remember a VM needs VT-x/AMD-V enabled in UEFI, plus a virtual NIC, virtual disk, and allocated RAM.
For "a user reports a blank monitor - what should you do FIRST," they answer "replace the monitor" instead of verifying power and cabling.
Real-world instinct jumps straight to the fix, and the exam's ordered troubleshooting process is treated as filler rather than a testable list.
What to do instead
Memorize the six steps in order: 1 identify the problem (gather information, question the obvious, back up before changing anything), 2 establish a theory of probable cause, 3 test the theory to determine the cause, 4 establish a plan of action and implement the solution, 5 verify full system functionality and implement preventive measures, 6 document findings, actions, and outcomes. "FIRST" almost always lands in step 1, "NEXT" after a confirmed cause lands in step 4, and "BEST" usually means the least invasive step that still moves the repair forward.
When a stem says users on one floor get intermittent wireless drops while other floors are fine, they answer "replace the core switch" or "reboot the WLAN controller" instead of checking that floor's APs for interference, channel overlap, or placement.
Scope (one user / one segment / everything) is read as background detail rather than as the diagnostic clue that narrows the fault.
What to do instead
Before answering any troubleshooting question, write down the scope. One device means cable, NIC, driver, or IP configuration. One floor or one switch means that AP or switch, its uplink, or local interference. Everyone everywhere means router, DHCP scope, DNS, or ISP. Then pick the cheapest reversible test that splits the remaining possibilities - for a single host with a 169.254.x.x address, renew the DHCP lease before replacing hardware.