Tracepath

Learn A+so it sticks.

Short study guides, a reason behind every wrong answer, and the questions you miss come back until you know them. Then you prove it in hands-on labs.

Start Core 1 freeTraining a team? Request a pilot
829
questions, most of them real tickets
1,941
wrong answers, each with the reason it’s wrong
18
hands-on labs, from crimping a cable to a Linux shell
1, 3, 7
days later, the ones you missed come back
Quit esc2.6SOHO IP addressingUptime
4 of 1045678910
Ticket #2716 · Lena P., Front deskDue 10:00 AM

Connected but nothing loads

My PC says it’s connected, but nothing loads.

IPv4 Address. . . . : 169.254.12.87
Default Gateway . . :

What does the address tell you?

    How it sticks

    Read a little, answer a lot, and keep seeing what you missed until it’s yours. Then do it for real.

    Read it.

    Every lesson opens with a short study guide. It starts on a real ticket, takes about four minutes and checks you halfway through.

    Study guide 2.1 · Ports and protocols4 min

    A dental office just got a new firewall: “Since the install, the front desk can’t pull email and our support guy can’t remote into the server. What do I tell the installer?”

    TCP or UDP: how the data travels

    Before the port number comes the transport. TCP opens with a three-way handshake, numbers every segment and resends anything that isn’t acknowledged. UDP just sends.

    Quick check: a service needs low overhead and can live with an occasional lost packet. TCP or UDP?

    UDP. It skips the handshake and acknowledgments.

    Answer it.

    Ten questions a lesson, most of them tickets in the user’s own words. Every wrong option tells you why it’s wrong.

    Ticket #3380 · Rick S., Sales managerLesson 1.3

    Huge phone bill after my trip

    Which change prevents it next time?

    1. 2Set backups and sync to Wi-Fi onlyAnswer
    2. 4Switch the phone from 5G to 4GYour pick

    Escalated

    Why not “Switch the phone from 5G to 4G”? A backup uploads the same 14.2 GB on 4G, just more slowly. The data cap counts gigabytes, not which network carried them.

    Miss it, and it comes back.

    A question you miss goes on your Callbacks list. Get it right and it comes back in 1 day, then 3, then 7. Four right in a row and it’s off the list.

    Huge phone bill after my tripCallbacks
    1. Mon 5Missed it in the lesson
    2. Mon 5Right in Callbacks · back in 1 day
    3. Tue 6Right · back in 3 days
    4. Fri 9Right · back in 7 days
    5. Fri 16Four in a row · off the list

    Do it with your hands.

    18 labs: crimp a cable, build a PC, open a laptop, type real commands in Windows and Linux.

    Windows Terminal lab · mission 3 of 10
    Clear the DNS resolver cache.

C:\Users\tech>ipconfig /flushdns

Windows IP Configuration

Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

    Work the call.

    Maria’s PC says “No internet” and she has a vendor call at 8:30. Walk to her desk, check the cable, run the commands and prove it’s fixed, against the clock.

    Your call · No internet on my PC9 min · target 12 ·
    1. 0:40Asked when it stopped
    2. 1:30Opened the network flyout: No internet
    3. 3:10Ran ipconfig: Media disconnected
    4. 5:50Followed the cable to the wall plate
    5. 7:00Plugged it back in
    6. 8:40Proved it: Maria’s upload went through

    Know when you’re ready.

    Each exam domain gets a score, weighted like the exam, so you know when to book it.

    Your readiness · Core 1ready line 70
    DomainScore
    Mobile devices81 Ready
    Networking61 Not yet
    Hardware74 Ready
    Virtualization and cloud69 Not yet
    Troubleshooting72 Ready

    Every objective, both exams

    Core 1 · 220-1201

    Mobile devices13% · 6 lessons
    Networking23% · 8 lessons
    Hardware25% · 8 lessons
    Virtualization and cloud11% · 4 lessons
    Hardware and network troubleshooting28% · 6 lessons

    Core 2 · 220-1202

    Operating systems28% · 11 lessons
    Security28% · 11 lessons
    Software troubleshooting23% · 4 lessons
    Operational procedures21% · 10 lessons

    Hands-on

    Labs: cables, PC build, laptop, terminals18
    Live calls in a 3D office2 of 9 built
    Ticket sims, one per domain36 tickets
    Exam sim, scored 100 to 90030 questions

    68 lessons and 829 original questions, written from CompTIA’s public objectives. Every lesson has its study guide, on both exams. CompTIA and A+ are trademarks of CompTIA, Inc.; Tracepath is not affiliated with or endorsed by CompTIA.

    Training a team?

    Run Tracepath for new hires or a class. Set the bar, and see who’s ready before they take a live call.

    Choose the line.

    Readiness blends lessons, checkpoints and exam sims, weighted like the exam. You decide what counts as ready.

    Pick a group.

    Set up a group per start date or team, each with its own invite code.

    Look at one domain.

    Every exam domain has its own number, so you know what to coach.

    Show who needs you.

    No practice in a week, never started, or stuck under 40 in three topics.

    Start with
    Core 1.

    Your first lesson takes about ten minutes.

    Start Core 1 free

    Training a team? Start a pilot.

    Seats