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A cracked lid is a ticket, not a 1.1 parts list. Core 1 asks you to monitor the hardware CompTIA names, pick the right replacement technique for those parts, and tell a broken panel apart from a dead digitizer, a dim backlight, or a swollen battery. Candidates who keep that map tight study faster on the CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201) path.

Domain 1.0 Mobile Devices is 13% of 220-1201. Domain 3.0 Hardware is 25%. Domain 5.0 Hardware and Network Troubleshooting is 28%. Screen work sits across all three.

What 1.1 actually names

Objective 1.1 stem: Given a scenario, monitor mobile device hardware and use appropriate replacement techniques.

The named items are:

• Battery
• Keyboard/keys
• Random-access memory (RAM)
• Hard disk drive (HDD) / solid-state drive (SSD)
• Wireless cards
• Physical privacy and security components
  • Biometrics
  • Near-field scanner features
• Wi-Fi antenna connector/placement
• Camera/webcam
• Microphone

Screen is not on that list. Digitizer is not on that list. Inverter is not on that list.

CompTIA’s equipment list for this exam still treats laptops, Chromebooks, tablets, and smartphones as mobile devices. 1.1 is the FRU (field-replaceable unit) list for that class of machine. A FRU is a part a technician can swap without sending the whole device back to the vendor. CompTIA names the FRUs. It does not name the lid glass.

The display stack lives in 3.1

Objective 3.1 stem: Compare and contrast display components and attributes.

Types

• Liquid crystal display (LCD). A panel that uses liquid crystals plus a separate light source.
  • In-plane switching (IPS). Named LCD subtype.
  • Twisted nematic (TN). Named LCD subtype.
  • Vertical alignment (VA). Named LCD subtype.
• Organic light-emitting diode (OLED). Named panel type. CompTIA lists it beside LCD, not under it.
• Mini light-emitting diode (Mini-LED). Named panel type.

Touch screen/digitizer. The digitizer is the layer that turns a finger or stylus into coordinates. The panel draws the picture. Those are two jobs. A device can show a perfect image and still fail every tap. That split is why 5.4 lists broken screen and digitizer issues as separate symptoms.

Inverter. CompTIA lists inverter as its own display component. It is not a 1.1 replacement bullet. On designs that use one, it feeds the backlight. Do not assume every LCD has one.

Attributes CompTIA names:

• Pixel density
• Refresh rates
• Screen resolution
• Color gamut

Pixel density is how many pixels sit in a given area. Refresh rate is how many times the panel updates per second. Screen resolution is the pixel grid (width × height). Color gamut is the range of colors the panel can reproduce. 3.1 asks you to compare those attributes. It does not publish numeric targets.

Symptoms that look like “replace the screen”

Objective 5.4 stem: Given a scenario, troubleshoot common mobile device issues.

Screen-adjacent 5.4 symptoms:

• Broken screen
• Digitizer issues
• Cursor drift / touch calibration
• Stylus does not work
• Poor battery health
• Swollen battery
• Improper charging
• Liquid damage
• Overheating
• Physically damaged ports
• Degraded performance

Objective 5.3 stem: Given a scenario, troubleshoot video, projector, and display issues.

Display-adjacent 5.3 symptoms:

• Display burn-in
• Dead pixels
• Flashing screen
• Dim image
• Incorrect color display
• Fuzzy image
• Distorted image
• Incorrect input source
• Physical cabling issues

A ticket that says “screen is dead” can be any of those. 1.1 replacement work starts after you name the failed part.

Broken screen is glass or panel damage you can see. Digitizer issues are touch that does not match the picture. Cursor drift / touch calibration is a pointer or tap that walks. Stylus does not work is the pen path, which 1.2 also names as an accessory. Display burn-in and dead pixels are 5.3 panel faults. Dim image can be backlight, inverter, or brightness policy. CompTIA does not tell you which one in the bullet. Separate them in the ticket before you order a lid.

Swollen battery is a 5.4 symptom and a 1.1 replacement item. A swollen pack can lift a trackpad, bulge a chassis, or press a display from behind. Do not treat a warped lid as automatic glass failure until you inspect the pack.

Replacement techniques for the parts 1.1 does name

1.1 tests appropriate replacement. Appropriate means: identify the part, use the method that part requires, then confirm the device works. CompTIA does not publish torque charts or adhesive temperatures in the objectives.

Battery. Monitor health and swelling. Replace the pack. Recheck charge behavior (5.4 also names improper charging and poor battery health).

Keyboard/keys. Monitor stuck, missing, or dead keys. Replace the keyboard or the key set the vendor supports.

RAM. Monitor capacity and faults. Replace the module the chassis accepts. 1.1 does not name SODIMM, soldered memory, or a specific DDR generation.

HDD/SSD. Monitor presence and health. Replace the drive. 1.1 does not name 2.5-inch, M.2, or NVMe here. Storage form factors belong in later Core 1 hardware objectives, not this 1.1 list.

Wireless cards. Monitor association. Replace the card. Then confirm the Wi-Fi antenna connector/placement. 1.1 lists the antenna path as its own item. A new card with a disconnected lead still shows poor or no connectivity (5.4).

Physical privacy and security components.

• Biometrics. Fingerprint or face hardware that gates the device. Monitor enrollment and read failures. Replace the sensor assembly the vendor ships.
• Near-field scanner features. Near-field communication (NFC) is the short-range radio 1.2 also lists as a connection method. Monitor tap-to-read. Replace the scanner or antenna the chassis uses.

Camera/webcam and microphone. Both sit in 1.1. Both often live in the display bezel on a laptop. CompTIA still lists them as their own replacement items, not as “part of the screen.” A black video tile can be the camera, the privacy shutter, or the cable. A silent call can be the microphone or an OS mute. Test the named part.

How a helpdesk ticket uses this map

User: “Laptop screen is black. Touch still clicks things.”

You still have a picture path and a digitizer path. Image gone, touch alive → panel, backlight, inverter, or cable. Do not open with “order a digitizer.”

User: “Picture is fine. Nothing I tap works. Stylus is dead too.”

5.4 names digitizer issues and stylus does not work. 3.1 names touch screen/digitizer. 1.2 names stylus as an accessory. Test calibration before you replace glass.

User: “The lid is cracked and the chassis is puffed.”

5.4 names broken screen and swollen battery. 1.1 names the battery as a replaceable part. Inspect the pack before you treat the crack as the only fault.

User: “Wi-Fi died after someone swapped the display.”

1.1 names Wi-Fi antenna connector/placement. 5.4 names poor/no connectivity. Reseat the antenna leads. Do not start with a new wireless card.

User: “Webcam black after a lid swap.”

1.1 names camera/webcam. Test the module and its cable. The display stack in 3.1 does not absorb that bullet.