At the municipal library, one laptop lists the staff SSID and fails authentication, while a tablet at the same desk never sees the SSID at all. How should the tech categorize these two problems?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
Hearing the SSID but failing the handshake is a password/security-config problem. Never seeing the network at all is like the radio station not reaching your seat—an RF or band/visibility issue. Split those two buckets before you spin in circles.
Full Explanation
At the municipal library, one laptop that lists the staff SSID and fails authentication, while a tablet at the same desk never sees the SSID at all, should be categorized as two different problems: authentication failure after hearing the network is config/security; never seeing a beacon is an RF/visibility issue. CWTS troubleshooting separates “heard but cannot auth” from “not heard.” Same desk location does not force a single root cause across different symptoms.
Both being purely PoE budget failures on the switch stack fails because a laptop that lists the SSID is receiving beacons, which contradicts a total AP power death for that BSS. Both proving the RADIUS hostname must be the SSID name fails by concept: RADIUS hostnames are not SSID names, and the tablet’s non-discovery is not an AAA symptom. Both being identical driver signing problems requiring reimaging fails because one device sees the SSID and the other does not—symptoms diverge.
Exam caveat: classify each symptom independently. Discovery failure ≠ authentication failure.
Operational check: on the laptop, inspect EAP/PSK settings and logs for auth failure; on the tablet, check band lock, airplane mode, driver, and measured RF; treat fixes separately; do not reboot RADIUS as a one-shot cure for both.