You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
COMPTIACompTIA A+ Core 1
The CompTIA A+ Core 1 certification validates foundational skills in hardware, networking, mobile devices, and troubleshooting. It is ideal for aspiring IT support specialists and help desk technicians, providing a stepping stone to advanced certifications like Network+ and Security+.
Exam formatMultiple-choice, drag-and-drop, and performance-based questions
Duration90 minutes
DeliveryPearson VUE
Passing score675 (on a scale of 900)
Free questions377
Content last reviewed 1 October 2023 · Up to date
The certification
What 220-1201 proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
5domains
15objectives
99concepts
US $274exam fee
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The CompTIA A+ Core 1 certification is the first of two exams required to earn the industry-standard A+ certification. It focuses on foundational skills in hardware, networking, mobile devices, and troubleshooting, preparing candidates for roles such as IT support specialist and help desk technician.
Passing both Core 1 and Core 2 exams equips you with the knowledge needed to pursue advanced certifications like Network+ and Security+. The exam covers a wide range of topics, including hardware installation, network configuration, and troubleshooting techniques.
Who it’s for
This certification is designed for individuals starting their careers in IT support roles. It is suitable for those aiming to become IT support specialists or help desk technicians, providing the foundational skills necessary for these positions. Candidates should have a keen interest in technology and a desire to develop their skills in hardware, networking, and troubleshooting. The certification serves as a gateway to more advanced IT certifications.
Recommended experience
12 months of hands-on experience in an IT support specialist job role. Experience with hardware installation and configuration; Familiarity with basic networking concepts; Troubleshooting hardware and connectivity issues
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective CompTIA measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official CompTIA exam outline · checked 1 October 2023 · See the source
Mobile devices
- Hardware setup
- Accessory options
- Network setup
- Troubleshooting
Networking
- Protocols and ports
- SOHO networks
- Networking tools
Hardware
- Component installation
- Cables and connectors
- Peripheral devices
- Motherboards and power
Virtualization and cloud computing
- Virtualization concepts
- Cloud models
Hardware and network troubleshooting
- Diagnosing issues
- Troubleshooting tools
On the day
The exam itself
Everything CompTIA publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
Exam code220-1201
CertificationCompTIA A+ Core 1
Exam formatMultiple-choice, drag-and-drop, and performance-based questions
Duration90 minutes
QuestionsMaximum of 90 questions
Passing score675 (on a scale of 900)
DeliveryPearson VUE
LanguagesEnglish, German, Japanese
PricingUS $274
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path CompTIA lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to CompTIA A+ Core 1
Credential earnedCompTIA A+ Core 1 Certification Renewal and maintenance
Certifications must be renewed every three years through CEUs or retaking exams. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. CompTIA maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by CompTIA
Exam registration
Register for the exam through Pearson VUE, CompTIA’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official CompTIA certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
Is any part of the 220-1201 exam hands-on or lab-based?
Yes. The exam includes performance-based questions that simulate real-world scenarios.
What job roles does the CompTIA A+ Core 1 credential map to?
It aligns with roles such as IT support specialist and help desk technician.
If I fail 220-1201, when can I retake it?
You must wait 24 hours after a first failed attempt, and 14 days before each subsequent attempt.
Can I recertify by passing a different CompTIA exam?
Yes. Earning a higher-level CompTIA certification can renew this credential.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2023-10-01 Up to date
Practice free questions 377 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept CompTIA measures — each one written out.
5domains
15objectives
99concepts
82free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official CompTIA exam outline · checked 1 October 2023 · See the source
1Mobile devices84 questions
2Networking85 questions
3Hardware111 questions
4Virtualization and cloud computing51 questions
5Hardware and network troubleshooting46 questions
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
Hardware setup5 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
22 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
377 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
377questions
82pages
15objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Mobile devices84 questions
2Networking85 questions
3Hardware111 questions
4Virtualization and cloud computing51 questions
5Hardware and network troubleshooting46 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
99concepts
377free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from CompTIA
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
1official link
99concepts mapped
The source
CompTIA’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official CompTIA outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 15 objectives, 99 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When CompTIA changes the outline, this page changes with it.
15objectives on the outline→99concepts written→377free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.