A Comprehensive Comparison of CompTIA A+ Certification Exam Series: 220-1101/1102 and 220-1201/1202
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| Visual guide comparing CompTIA A+ exam series 220-1101 & 1102 vs. 220-1201 & 1202 |
Table of Contents
CompTIA launched the A+ 1200 series in March 2025. The new exams — 220-1201 (Core 1) and 220-1202 (Core 2) — replace the 220-1101 and 220-1102 exams, which are set to retire around September 25, 2025. If you are deciding which series to study for, or trying to understand exactly what changed, this article gives you the full picture: every domain weight shift, every new topic, and a clear recommendation based on your current study stage.
What is CompTIA A+ and why does it update every three years?
CompTIA A+ is the IT industry's entry-level support certification. It is vendor-neutral — no Cisco, no Microsoft, no AWS bias — and it is the credential that appears in more IT support job listings than any other at its level. Over 1.3 million A+ certifications have been awarded worldwide. The US Department of Defense maps it to its Cyber Workforce Framework. When an employer posts a help desk job and lists "CompTIA A+ preferred," this is exactly what they mean.
CompTIA refreshes the exam on a roughly three-year cycle. The idea is straightforward: the technology an IT support technician actually handles in the field changes constantly, and a certification that reflects 2022 hardware and software realities should not be the standard by 2025. The 1100 series launched in April 2022. The 1200 series launched in March 2025. Both follow the same two-exam structure — one Core 1 exam covering hardware and infrastructure, one Core 2 exam covering software, security, and operations.
Both exams in the same series must be passed to earn the certification. Scores from different series cannot be combined. A Core 1 pass on the 220-1101 cannot be paired with a Core 2 pass on the 220-1202.
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The CompTIA A+ certification is valid for three years from the date you pass your second exam. The series you pass does not affect validity length — a 1100 series pass and a 1200 series pass both earn the same credential with the same renewal timeline.
What did the 1100 series (220-1101 and 220-1102) cover?
The 1100 series ran from April 2022 until the 1200 series launched in March 2025. Each exam had a maximum of 90 questions and a 90-minute time limit. Core 1 required a passing score of 675 (on a 100-900 scale); Core 2 required 700.
220-1101 Core 1 domain weights
| # | Domain | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Mobile Devices | 15% |
| 2.0 | Networking | 20% |
| 3.0 | Hardware | 25% |
| 4.0 | Virtualization and Cloud Computing | 11% |
| 5.0 | Hardware and Network Troubleshooting | 29% |
| Total | 100% | |
Core 1 was the hardware and infrastructure exam. Troubleshooting accounted for the single largest slice at 29% — consistent with CompTIA's expectation that an A+ technician's primary daily job is diagnosing and fixing physical and network problems. Hardware came second at 25%, covering components like CPUs, RAM, storage types, and expansion slots.
220-1102 Core 2 domain weights
| # | Domain | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Operating Systems | 31% |
| 2.0 | Security | 25% |
| 3.0 | Software Troubleshooting | 22% |
| 4.0 | Operational Procedures | 22% |
| Total | 100% | |
Core 2 was the software and operations exam. Operating Systems led at 31%, reflecting how much time an entry-level technician spends installing, configuring, and troubleshooting Windows environments. Security sat at 25% — significant, but not yet the equal of OS knowledge in 2022.
What does the new 1200 series (220-1201 and 220-1202) cover?
The 1200 series launched March 2025. CompTIA's framing for this update centers on one phrase: supporting a hybrid workforce. Remote work and distributed teams are no longer a pandemic anomaly; they are how many IT environments operate permanently. The new exams reflect that shift by increasing troubleshooting weight, expanding cloud coverage, and adding topics that were not in the 1100 series at all.
220-1201 Core 1 domain weights
| # | Domain | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Mobile Devices | 15% |
| 2.0 | Networking | 15% |
| 3.0 | Hardware | 20% |
| 4.0 | Virtualization and Cloud Computing | 15% |
| 5.0 | Hardware and Network Troubleshooting | 35% |
| Total | 100% | |
220-1202 Core 2 domain weights
| # | Domain | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Operating Systems | 28% |
| 2.0 | Security | 28% |
| 3.0 | Software Troubleshooting | 23% |
| 4.0 | Operational Procedures | 21% |
| Total | 100% | |
How do the domain weights compare between the 1100 and 1200 series?
The tables below show the weight change for each domain across both exams. A positive change means more exam content in the 1200 series. A negative change means less.
Core 1 weight shifts: 220-1101 vs 220-1201
| Domain | 220-1101 | 220-1201 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile Devices | 15% | 15% | 0% |
| Networking | 20% | 15% | -5% |
| Hardware | 25% | 20% | -5% |
| Virtualization and Cloud Computing | 11% | 15% | +4% |
| Hardware and Network Troubleshooting | 29% | 35% | +6% |
The most significant Core 1 shift is the 6% jump in Hardware and Network Troubleshooting, which now accounts for 35% of the entire exam. That is more than one-third of every question on Core 1. The practical implication: you need to know not just what components are but how to diagnose them in messy real-world scenarios. Virtualization and Cloud gained 4%, going from the smallest domain at 11% to a more even 15% alongside Networking and Mobile Devices. Hardware and Networking both shed 5% — not because those topics disappeared, but because some of their content was redistributed into the troubleshooting domain.
Core 2 weight shifts: 220-1102 vs 220-1202
| Domain | 220-1102 | 220-1202 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating Systems | 31% | 28% | -3% |
| Security | 25% | 28% | +3% |
| Software Troubleshooting | 22% | 23% | +1% |
| Operational Procedures | 22% | 21% | -1% |
On Core 2, the headline change is Security climbing to match Operating Systems at 28% each. In the 1100 series, OS had a 6-point lead over Security. That gap is gone. Security and OS now carry equal weight, which tells you something direct about where CompTIA thinks entry-level technicians need to spend their attention in 2025.
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If you are studying for the 1200 series, plan to spend roughly equal time on Operating Systems and Security for Core 2. The old 1100 series bias toward OS-heavy prep is no longer appropriate.
What new topics appear in Core 1 (220-1201) that were not in 220-1101?
The 1200 series is not a cosmetic refresh. Specific new content was added to each domain, and some older content was trimmed or folded into other areas.
Mobile Devices (weight unchanged at 15%)
Connection methods now explicitly include tethering and hotspot alongside USB, Lightning, NFC, and Bluetooth. Mobile Device Management and Mobile Application Management get more structured coverage, reflecting how central MDM platforms are to supporting employees using personal devices at work. BYOD policy concepts appear as a formal topic. NFC and biometric authentication coverage is expanded.
Networking (weight decreased from 20% to 15%)
Despite the weight decrease, the Networking domain in 220-1201 adds the 6 GHz Wi-Fi band — which arrived with Wi-Fi 6E — alongside the existing 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz content. Software-Defined Networking (SDN) appears as a new topic, and long-range wireless technologies get explicit coverage. The weight reduction likely reflects consolidation of some networking concepts into the expanded troubleshooting domain.
Hardware (weight decreased from 25% to 20%)
Mini-LED display technology joins LCD and OLED in the display components section. Storage now includes RAID 6 — previously the objectives only covered RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10. USB-C gets expanded coverage as the dominant interface standard. Newer hardware specifics like DDR5 RAM and NVMe storage are addressed, and the objectives now reference the latest mobile device form factors. VGA and older USB standards appear less prominently than in the 1100 series, where they had more dedicated treatment.
Virtualization and Cloud Computing (weight increased from 11% to 15%)
Multi-tenancy concepts are new. The objectives expand coverage of multi-cloud environments, which is where most organizations with more than a handful of servers actually operate. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) gets more structured treatment. The distinction between Type I and Type II hypervisors is more explicit, and containers appear as a topic — an addition that reflects how widely container-based deployment has spread beyond developer environments into IT support contexts.
Hardware and Network Troubleshooting (weight increased from 29% to 35%)
The largest domain on Core 1 grew larger. Troubleshooting scenarios now include SaaS applications, virtual desktops, and hybrid environments — not just local hardware. Printer coverage includes 3D printing and device calibration. The troubleshooting methodology in 220-1201 is worth noting separately: the new exam document contains an entire section on the six-step troubleshooting methodology as a "competency standard," but it explicitly states the methodology will not be directly tested. It is there as a teaching framework for training providers. The 1100 series had no equivalent standalone section.
What new topics appear in Core 2 (220-1202) that were not in 220-1102?
Operating Systems (weight decreased from 31% to 28%)
The 220-1202 objectives focus primarily on Windows 11, whereas the 220-1102 covered Windows 10 alongside earlier versions. New file system coverage includes ReFS (Resilient File System) and XFS alongside the existing NTFS, FAT32, and ext4. macOS security features appear with specific mention of Rapid Security Response. Linux command coverage expands to include the Nano text editor alongside the existing command-line tools. Mobile operating systems — iOS, iPadOS, and Android — are now explicitly listed as operating system topics, which was less defined in the 1100 objectives. Active Directory concepts are consolidated rather than distributed across multiple objectives.
Security (weight increased from 25% to 28%)
This is the domain with the most significant new content in the 1200 series. The Zero Trust security model appears as a formal topic — a major conceptual framework that was absent from the 1100 series. Privileged Access Management (PAM) is new. Attack vector coverage expands to include QR code phishing, Business Email Compromise (BEC), and supply chain attacks, which are three of the most common attack types against organizations right now. Time-based One-Time Passwords (TOTP) get expanded treatment. Stalkerware appears as a malware category. Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) and just-in-time access concepts appear in the authentication section.
Security tools added for the 1200 series include Extended Detection and Response (XDR), Managed Detection and Response (MDR), and Data Loss Prevention (DLP). Windows 11 security tools — specifically Trusted Platform Module (TPM 2.0), UEFI Secure Boot, and Windows Hello — get more explicit coverage.
Software Troubleshooting (weight increased from 22% to 23%)
Minor weight increase, minor content adjustments. The troubleshooting steps are reorganized to better reflect current industry practice. Scenario framing is updated to include cloud-hosted software and remote support contexts alongside local software issues.
Operational Procedures (weight decreased from 22% to 21%)
The single biggest new addition in the entire 1200 series sits here: basic Artificial Intelligence concepts. CompTIA added an AI section to Operational Procedures covering five specific areas: public versus private AI tools, data security and privacy implications of AI use, AI bias and hallucinations, appropriate use and plagiarism considerations, and AI accuracy limitations. This is not a deep AI engineering topic — it is the practical knowledge an IT support technician needs to advise end users and enforce policy around AI tool use in the workplace. No equivalent section existed in the 1100 series.
Info!
The AI concepts section in 220-1202 is genuinely new territory for A+ candidates. If you are coming from 1100 series study materials, you will need to cover this separately. No 1100 series prep book or video course will have addressed it.
Did the exam format change between the 1100 and 1200 series?
No. The format is consistent. Both series use the same structure:
| Parameter | 1100 Series | 1200 Series |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum questions per exam | 90 | 90 |
| Time limit | 90 minutes | 90 minutes |
| Question types | Multiple choice, drag-and-drop, performance-based | Multiple choice, drag-and-drop, performance-based |
| Core 1 passing score | 675 / 900 | 675 / 900 |
| Core 2 passing score | 700 / 900 | 700 / 900 |
| Can mix series? | No — both exams must be from the same series | |
Performance-based questions (PBQs) are the ones where you are placed in a simulated environment and asked to perform a task rather than select an answer. These appear in both series and are typically the most time-consuming questions on the exam. CompTIA does not publish the exact number of PBQs, but most candidates encounter three to five per exam.
When do the 220-1101 and 220-1102 retire, and what should you do?
CompTIA's standard practice is to retire the previous series approximately six months after launching the new one. The 1200 series launched in March 2025. That puts the 1100 series retirement around September 25, 2025. After that date, the 220-1101 and 220-1102 exams are no longer available.
Which series should you take?
- You have not started studying yet: Take the 1200 series (220-1201 and 220-1202). You have enough time before the 1100 retires, but you will need to find 1100 series study materials that are being phased out as publishers update their content. Starting fresh on 1200 series materials is the cleaner path.
- You are deep into 1100 series study and can finish by September 2025: Finish the 1100 series. The certification you earn is identical. There is no advantage to abandoning your current prep — just book your exams and complete them before the retirement date.
- You are midway through 1100 series prep and September 2025 is tight: This is the hard case. If you genuinely cannot complete both exams before September 2025, you need to switch to the 1200 series. Any time you have spent on 1100 series content is not wasted — the two series overlap significantly in foundational content. The new topics in the 1200 series are additions, not replacements.
- You passed one 1100 series exam but not the other: You need to pass the second exam from the same series before September 2025, or start over with the 1200 series. A 220-1101 pass cannot carry over to a 220-1202 attempt — the series requirement is strict.
What does the 1100 vs 1200 change mean if you are preparing in Pakistan?
Pearson VUE test centers in Pakistan — including locations in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, and Faisalabad — offer both series until the 1100 retires. If you have already booked a 1100 series voucher, you can still use it. If you are purchasing a new exam voucher in 2025, it will typically be for the 1200 series, since that is what most voucher vendors are now selling.
Exam vouchers in Pakistan cost around USD 246 per exam at standard pricing (approximately PKR 68,000 at 2025 exchange rates). CompTIA occasionally offers discounted vouchers through academic programs and authorized training providers — worth checking before purchasing at full price. The total cost for both exams is roughly PKR 1,36,000 at standard rates, though actual prices at authorized resellers vary.
For Pakistani candidates who learned IT support skills primarily through Windows 10 environments, the 1200 series shift toward Windows 11 is worth noting. Windows 11 has seen faster adoption in corporate environments than Windows 10 did in its first two years, so this is not a purely academic update — it reflects what you are likely to encounter in an actual help desk role.
If you are studying using Urdu or Hindi language resources, be aware that 1200 series content in these languages is catching up to availability. Professor Messer's free course notes are available in English and are the most reliable free source for both series. For a detailed breakdown of which free and paid CompTIA A+ study resources work best for Pakistani students, see our guide on free vs paid vs hybrid CompTIA A+ resources.
What should you read next on your CompTIA A+ journey?
The comparison between the 1100 and 1200 series is one piece of a larger picture. Here are the most relevant articles to read alongside this one:
| Topic | Why read it |
|---|---|
| CompTIA A+ complete beginners guide | If this series comparison is your first encounter with A+, start here for the full overview of what the certification is, what jobs it leads to, and how long preparation realistically takes. |
| Free vs paid vs hybrid CompTIA A+ resources | Covers Professor Messer, Jason Dion's Udemy courses, Mike Meyers, and free YouTube options — with specific callouts for Pakistani students on budget constraints. |
| Best books for CompTIA A+ | The 1200 series book editions are now appearing. This article is being updated with 1201/1202-specific editions from Mike Meyers, Jason Dion, and CompTIA's own study guide. |
| How hard is the CompTIA A+ exam? | The 1200 series is slightly harder than the 1100 series for candidates without hands-on cloud or hybrid environment experience. This article breaks down difficulty by domain. |
| Why 50% of students fail CompTIA A+ | Most of the failure reasons in the 1100 series carry directly over to the 1200 series, but underestimating the Security domain is now an even more expensive mistake. |
| CompTIA A+ vs Cisco CCNA | If you are weighing A+ against CCNA as your first certification, this comparison is the most thorough breakdown available with Pakistan-specific salary and job market data. |
For a broader look at where CompTIA A+ fits into the larger IT certification landscape and what to pursue after passing, see the CompTIA A+ complete beginners guide — the hub article that connects all of these topics in one place.
What else changed in the 1200 series documents beyond exam content?
A few administrative and structural changes in the 220-1201/1202 objective documents are worth knowing about if you are working from the official CompTIA PDFs.
The recommended experience description shifted slightly. The 1100 series documents listed specific job titles: help desk support technician, desktop support technician, field service technician. The 1200 series documents use the more general phrase "IT support specialist job role." The experience recommendation of 9 to 12 months of hands-on work in a lab or field environment remains the same.
The acronym list in the 1200 series objective documents includes new entries not present in the 1100 series, including AAAA (Authentication, Authorization, Accounting, and Auditing), XDR, MDR, DLP, TOTP, BEC, and others tied to the new Security domain content. If you are using flashcard decks built from the 1100 series acronym list, they are not complete for the 1200 series.
The hardware and software list — the sample list CompTIA provides to training providers — has minor updates in the 1200 version. "Print Management" replaces "Print Manager" in the Active Directory and Windows Server references. Newer device types are listed. These are editorial rather than substantive, but they affect what you should expect to see referenced in performance-based questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do the CompTIA A+ 220-1101 and 220-1102 exams retire?
The 220-1101 and 220-1102 exams are expected to retire around September 25, 2025 — approximately six months after the 1200 series launched in March 2025. This follows CompTIA's standard policy of retiring the previous series six months after a new series releases. After the retirement date, neither exam is available for purchase or scheduling.
Can I use a 220-1101 pass toward a 220-1202 exam?
No. CompTIA requires both exams to be from the same series. A pass on 220-1101 is only valid toward completing the 220-1102 from the same 1100 series. It cannot be combined with a 220-1202 from the 1200 series. If you need to switch series mid-preparation, you start fresh with both 220-1201 and 220-1202.
Is the 1200 series harder than the 1100 series?
Slightly, for candidates without cloud or hybrid environment exposure. The larger troubleshooting weight in Core 1 (35% vs 29%) requires more scenario-based practice. The Security domain matching Operating Systems at 28% in Core 2 means Security can no longer be treated as a secondary focus. New topics like Zero Trust, XDR, MDR, and AI concepts in Operational Procedures require additional study that 1100 series prep materials will not cover.
What is the passing score for the 220-1201 and 220-1202 exams?
The passing score for 220-1201 (Core 1) is 675 on a scale of 100 to 900. The passing score for 220-1202 (Core 2) is 700 on the same scale. These scores are unchanged from the 1100 series equivalents. CompTIA uses scaled scoring, so these numbers do not map directly to a percentage of questions answered correctly.
What completely new topics does the 1200 series add that were not in the 1100 series?
The 1200 series adds six categories of genuinely new content: (1) AI concepts in Operational Procedures covering public vs private AI, data privacy, bias, hallucinations, plagiarism, and accuracy; (2) Zero Trust security model; (3) Privileged Access Management (PAM); (4) new attack vectors including QR code phishing, BEC, and supply chain attacks; (5) XDR, MDR, and DLP as security tools; and (6) containers and multi-cloud environments in the Virtualization and Cloud domain. Everything else in the 1200 series is either an update to existing 1100 content or a weight redistribution.
How much does the CompTIA A+ exam cost in Pakistan in 2025?
Standard exam pricing through Pearson VUE is USD 246 per exam, which at 2025 exchange rates is approximately PKR 68,000. Both exams together cost roughly PKR 1,36,000 at standard pricing. Discounts are available through academic programs, authorized training providers, and CompTIA's own bundle vouchers. Pakistani students should check authorized local resellers before purchasing at the direct Pearson VUE rate.
Does the CompTIA A+ certification I earn matter whether it is from the 1100 or 1200 series?
To employers, both result in the same CompTIA A+ credential, valid for three years. The certification on your CV or resume does not show which series you passed. However, the 1200 series will be the current standard for longer, so candidates who pass it in 2025 will not need to consider updating until approximately 2028. A 1100 series pass in late 2025 would still give you a valid credential, but the 1200 series content better reflects the tools and environments you will actually work with.
Download the full comparison as a PDF
The PDF below contains the complete domain weight comparison tables, the new topic lists for both Core 1 and Core 2, and the retirement timeline — formatted for offline study reference.
