A user reports that while connected to an enterprise Wi-Fi network, their smartphone is unable to access internal network shares or internet websites. A technician checks the smartphone's IP configuration and observes an IPv4 address of with a subnet mask of . Which of the following best explains why the mobile device received this IP address?
- The mobile device failed to contact a DHCP server and assigned itself an APIPA address.Answer
- BThe device's SIM card is provisioned with an invalid IMEI identifier required for network access.
- CThe enterprise access point is operating on overlapping 2.4 GHz channels 2 and 3.
- DThe mobile web browser is attempting to negotiate connection requests on port 80 instead of port 443.
Answer
The mobile device failed to contact a DHCP server and assigned itself an APIPA address.
An IPv4 address beginning with 169.254.x.x indicates Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA). When a mobile device joins a Wi-Fi network configured for DHCP but receives no response from a DHCP server, the operating system self-assigns a link-local APIPA address. This allows communication with other link-local devices on the same physical segment but prevents communication outside the local subnet or to the internet.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) in Mobile Networking
Estimated Time:45s