Certification guide
CompTIA A+ is the industry’s default first credential for hands-on IT work — the certification hiring managers look for when filling help desk, desktop support, field service, and technical support roles. It’s vendor-neutral, ANSI/ISO 17024 accredited, approved for U.S. DoD 8140 work roles including technical support specialist and system administrator, and it signals one specific thing employers care about: you can walk up to a misbehaving device, network, or operating system and methodically fix it.
Unlike most certifications, A+ requires passing two separate exams: Core 1 (220-1201), centered on hardware, networking, mobile devices, and cloud fundamentals, and Core 2 (220-1202), centered on operating systems, security, software troubleshooting, and professional procedures. You can take them in either order, each is scheduled and paid for separately, and the A+ credential is awarded only when both are passed — both from the same version series. The current series (V15) launched in March 2025, with retirement estimated around 2028 on CompTIA’s usual three-year cycle; verify current dates on CompTIA’s official site before scheduling. CompTIA recommends about 12 months of hands-on IT support experience, though there are no formal prerequisites.
Core 1 · 220-1201
Core 2 · 220-1202
What Core 1 (220-1201) covers
CompTIA’s official exam objectives organize Core 1 into five domains. The domain names and weightings below are cited from those objectives; the descriptions of what each demands in practice are our own.
Mobile Devices
Laptops, tablets, and phones as physical machines: swapping batteries, displays, and antennas; configuring Bluetooth, NFC, and docking accessories; and getting cellular, Wi-Fi, and synchronization settings right for users who live on these devices.
Networking
The connectivity layer every support ticket eventually touches: TCP vs. UDP and the well-known ports, wireless standards, the services running on networked hosts (DHCP, DNS, file and print), common networking hardware, and configuring a small office/home office network end to end.
Hardware
The physical craft of the job: cables and connectors, RAM types, storage devices from NVMe to RAID, motherboards, CPUs, and power supplies — plus printers and multifunction devices, which remain the great humbler of IT professionals everywhere.
Virtualization and Cloud Computing
The smallest domain but a fast-growing part of the role: cloud models and characteristics, client-side virtualization, and the purposes of virtual machines — the concepts a technician needs when the “computer” being supported doesn’t physically exist.
Hardware and Network Troubleshooting
The largest domain in Core 1, because it’s the essence of the job: diagnosing failing drives, RAM, and power issues; video, projector, and display problems; mobile device faults; printer misbehavior; and wired/wireless network symptoms — always in scenario form, asking what you’d check next.
What Core 2 (220-1202) covers
Operating Systems
Windows editions, installations, and upgrades headline this domain — through Windows 11 — alongside macOS and Linux fundamentals, command-line tools, and the control panels and settings a technician navigates dozens of times a day.
Security
Security at the endpoint where users actually get compromised: malware types and removal, social engineering, authentication and permissions, wireless security, workstation and mobile hardening, and the physical and logical controls that protect a small environment.
Software Troubleshooting
When the hardware is fine but nothing works: diagnosing Windows OS problems, resolving application crashes, cleaning up malware infections with the proper sequence of steps, and untangling mobile OS and app issues.
Operational Procedures
The professional wrapper around the technical work: documentation and ticketing, change management, backup and recovery, safety and environmental practices, privacy and licensing basics, scripting fundamentals, remote access technologies, and communicating with the human attached to the broken machine.
How our practice exams prepare you
We mirror the two-exam structure with a separate full-length mock for each Core — up to 90 questions in a 90-minute timed sitting, weighted to the official domain percentages, with question order shuffled on every attempt. Every question is tagged to its domain and carries a full explanation of why the correct answer is correct and why each distractor fails, so a review session after each attempt systematically converts your weak domains into strong ones. Take Core 1 and Core 2 mocks in whichever order matches your study plan, as many times as you like; your score history tracks both on your results page.
CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201) — Practice Exam
Full-length Core 1 mock exam drawn from a large, blueprint-weighted question bank covering mobile devices, networking, hardware, virtualization and cloud, and hardware/network troubleshooting. Every attempt is…
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Certifym.net is an independent study resource operated by Paquin Business LLC. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by CompTIA, Inc. All practice questions, answers, and explanations on this site are original works created by Certifym; they are not actual CompTIA exam questions and are not derived from any live exam content. Use of this site does not guarantee a passing score on any certification exam. Exam details (question counts, duration, scoring, and version timelines) are subject to change by CompTIA — always verify current details on CompTIA’s official website.