220-1101 Question 445
Single answerIntermittent wireless connectivityA technician is troubleshooting complaints from users in a small office who report that Wi-Fi disconnects for a few seconds several times each hour. The issue affects laptops and phones in one corner of the building but not devices near the wireless router. The router is using the 2.4 GHz band on channel 6. A microwave and several cordless phones are located in the affected area. Which of the following is the BEST action to improve wireless stability?
- A
Change the wireless network to a different 2.4 GHz channel such as 1 or 11
- B
Increase the DHCP lease time on the router
- C
Replace WPA2 with WPA3 on all client devices
- D
Disable SSID broadcasting so nearby devices cannot see the network
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The symptoms point to interference rather than authentication, DHCP, or general router failure: the problem is intermittent, affects only a specific area, and occurs on the 2.4 GHz band near common interference sources. Microwaves and many older cordless phones can disrupt 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. Best practice when troubleshooting wireless instability is to identify nearby interference sources and adjust the wireless channel, preferably to another non-overlapping 2.4 GHz channel such as 1 or 11. This aligns with standard wireless troubleshooting guidance from wireless networking best practices and vendor documentation for SOHO access points. If available, another strong follow-up step in a real environment would be moving affected clients to 5 GHz, which is less susceptible to these particular interference sources.
- A. Correct.
Correct. Intermittent wireless connectivity in a localized area, especially on the 2.4 GHz band near a microwave and cordless phones, strongly suggests radio-frequency interference. In 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, channels 1, 6, and 11 are the standard non-overlapping channels in many regions. Moving from channel 6 to channel 1 or 11 is a common troubleshooting step to reduce interference and improve stability.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. DHCP lease time affects how long devices keep an IP address, not short Wi-Fi dropouts caused by radio interference. A DHCP issue would more likely cause addressing or renewal problems across the network rather than brief signal interruptions only in one area.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. WPA3 is a security enhancement, not a fix for intermittent connectivity caused by environmental interference. In some environments, changing security settings can even introduce compatibility concerns with older clients, but it would not address the root cause described in the scenario.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Disabling SSID broadcasting does not reduce radio interference or improve signal quality. It mainly affects how the network is advertised and can create usability issues for clients without providing a real solution to intermittent connectivity.