A+ V15: audit your study material before you buy or keep it

A cheap course for a retired exam is the most expensive one you can buy.

The dates

V15 launched on 25 March 2025. V14, with codes 220-1101 and 220-1102, retired on 25 September 2025. Today the exams are:

Both mix multiple choice (one or several answers), drag and drop, and performance-based questions. They are offered in English, German and Japanese. Between them they hold 63 objectives: 27 in Core 1 and 36 in Core 2, spread across nine domains.

A five-minute audit

Take every course, book and practice bank you own or plan to buy, and check four things.

1. Exam codes. The product names 220-1201 and 220-1202, not 220-1101 or 220-1102.
2. Objectives. It follows the official V15 objective list.
3. Hands-on practice. It includes performance-based practice as well as multiple choice.
4. Refund policy. It is in writing.

If a product fails the first check, stop. A second-hand course is only a bargain if the hours spent on it count.

What is new in V15

Three changes matter.

• Artificial intelligence basics. Core 2 objective 4.10 covers what AI tools are, how they help support work and their risks. Learn the risks as well as the benefits. Never pasting sensitive data into a public AI tool is the plain example.
• Cloud productivity tools. Core 2 objective 1.11 covers cloud productivity tools, which belong to the everyday toolset of a support role.
• Security gains weight. In Core 2, security carries the same 28% as operating systems. You cannot treat it as a side topic.

What the troubleshooting method is

CompTIA publishes a troubleshooting methodology alongside the objectives and states that the method itself is not tested. Troubleshooting still carries great weight in both exams. The steps are identify the problem, establish and test a theory, plan and fix, then verify and document.

What to do if your material is V14

Do not throw it all away, because some of it may still apply. But before you rely on it:

1. List which objectives it covers.
2. Add a V15 source for objectives 4.10 and 1.11 and for the security objectives.
3. Replace the practice bank with one that names 220-1201 and 220-1202.
4. Re-check your hour split. Security has more weight than it did.

Reading a product page

Look for the codes in the title and in the objectives list. Treat a product dated before 25 March 2025 as V14 until the seller shows in writing that it follows the V15 objectives, and keep the reply.

One more check at booking

Because both cores must come from the same version, check the exam code on the confirmation page of every booking, not just on the voucher.