98-368 Mobility and Devices Fundamentals Exam Guide
Exam 98-368 validated foundational knowledge of Windows devices and mobility for people beginning in desktop, device, or related IT work. Microsoft listed hands-on familiarity with Windows devices, Windows-based networking, Active Directory, antimalware products, firewalls, network topologies and devices, and network ports as useful background. The important decision now is not simply how to study: Microsoft retired the MTA exams on June 30, 2022, so this guide helps you determine whether 98-368 is a historical learning target, a transcript credential you already earned, or a reason to choose a current fundamentals path instead.
What Exam 98-368 was designed to validate
Exam 98-368 was titled Mobility and Devices Fundamentals and belonged to Microsoft’s Microsoft Technology Associate offering. Its intended audience had fundamental knowledge of Windows devices and mobility, rather than advanced administration or specialist engineering expertise. The exam therefore served as an entry-level validation of connected device, operating system, networking, and security concepts.
Microsoft’s support material listed Exam 368 as the requirement for the MTA Mobility and Device Fundamentals certification. That historical relationship matters when reading older books, practice material, or training pages: passing 98-368 was associated with an MTA credential at the time, but the exam is no longer an available route to earn it.
The exam’s purpose was broader than memorizing Windows interface locations. The official objectives document points toward practical understanding of how a Windows device connects, authenticates, communicates, receives protection, and supports mobility. A useful preparation question is therefore: can you explain why a setting or technology is used, not merely recognize its name?
For a current candidate, treat 98-368 as a legacy syllabus rather than a schedulable Microsoft exam. If your goal is current certification, begin with Microsoft’s present fundamentals and role-based offerings instead of investing in a retired exam voucher or assuming an old practice site reflects an active test.
Who the historical audience included
The documented audience was candidates with fundamental knowledge of Windows devices and mobility. That description fits students, career starters, support technicians, and learners building a base before moving into broader infrastructure or role-based training. It does not establish a formal prerequisite, and the supplied official material does not state that a particular job title or prior certification was required.
Microsoft also described MTA infrastructure certifications as relevant to people intending to build careers in desktop infrastructure, server infrastructure, or private cloud computing. In that context, 98-368 was a starting-point credential, not evidence of senior device-management authority or independent enterprise architecture capability.
What the credential means today
Microsoft’s retirement guidance says retired exams can no longer be taken and their associated certifications or credentials can no longer be earned after the retirement date. The MTA retirement FAQ states that the MTA program retired on June 30, 2022. Do not use an old booking link, an unofficial “available” label, or a seller’s product page as evidence that 98-368 can still be scheduled.
Which skills belong in your study scope
The supplied official objectives evidence identifies the knowledge areas that should shape a historical 98-368 study plan: Windows devices, mobility, Windows-based networking, Active Directory, antimalware products, firewalls, network topologies and devices, and network ports. The source identifies an objectives revision effective January 31, 2018, but the supplied facts do not include a complete domain list or percentage weighting.
Because no verified blueprint percentages are provided here, this guide does not assign weights to the domains. When reviewing a legacy outline elsewhere, keep each percentage attached to its exact official domain label and confirm that the document is the correct version. A bare percentage is not useful evidence of study priority.
The best way to turn the scope into preparation tasks is to organize it around decisions an entry-level technician might make: identify a device and its connectivity, distinguish local from directory-based identity, select an appropriate protection control, and interpret the role of a network device or port. This produces study notes that explain relationships instead of isolated definitions.
Windows devices and mobility
Start with the device itself. Review common Windows device characteristics, the relationship between hardware and operating-system functions, and the practical concerns introduced by mobile use, such as connectivity changes, access control, and protection outside a fixed office network. Avoid narrowing the topic to a single Windows release unless your source explicitly maps that release to the objectives.
For each concept, write a short cause-and-effect explanation. For example, describe what changes when a device moves from a trusted local network to another connection, which dependency is affected, and which control helps reduce the resulting risk. The goal is reasoning that remains useful when a question changes its wording.
Windows-based networking
Networking study should connect a Windows client to the services and devices around it. Review how a device obtains or uses network information, how it reaches resources, and how network topology affects communication. Then map each term to a troubleshooting question: is the issue local to the device, related to name or address information, blocked by a control, or caused by the path?
Build a small vocabulary sheet for network devices and ports, but add purpose and context beside every term. Memorizing a list without understanding what traffic or service a port supports leaves you vulnerable to scenario questions and does not create transferable troubleshooting skill.
Active Directory and identity
Active Directory should be studied as an identity and management context, not as a collection of unfamiliar labels. Focus on the difference between a local device context and a directory environment, how users and computers relate to that environment, and why centralized identity changes support and access decisions.
Use comparison tables in your own notes: local account versus directory account, authentication versus authorization, and device membership versus access to a particular resource. These contrasts are practical study aids, but they are recommendations rather than additional Microsoft exam requirements.
Antimalware and firewalls
Separate malicious-software protection from traffic-control protection. Antimalware products address threats associated with harmful software, while firewalls regulate network traffic according to configured rules and context. Study what each control is intended to do, what it cannot guarantee, and how an overly broad troubleshooting action can weaken protection.
A useful exercise is to classify a problem before choosing a remedy. If a file or process appears harmful, think about antimalware investigation. If a connection is refused, consider firewall rules and the path. If an account can sign in but cannot use a resource, investigate authorization rather than treating every failure as a network or malware problem.
Network topologies, devices, and ports
Learn topologies and network devices by their effect on communication. Draw a simple network, label the endpoints and intermediate devices, and trace where traffic travels. Then annotate the points at which addressing, filtering, routing, or physical connectivity could affect the result.
Ports should be treated as service-related identifiers rather than magic numbers. The supplied official facts confirm that network ports are part of the expected hands-on background, but they do not provide a verified port list. Use an authoritative technical reference for any detailed port study and keep those details separate from the confirmed 98-368 evidence.
How to prepare when the exam is retired
Do not prepare to sit 98-368 unless Microsoft or the relevant provider gives you an official, current path—which the supplied retirement evidence does not. Instead, decide whether you are studying the old objectives for knowledge, documenting a previously earned MTA credential, or replacing the goal with a current Microsoft fundamentals certification. Each decision requires a different amount of work.
For knowledge-building, the old objectives can still provide a sensible foundation in devices, networking, identity, and protection. For credential verification, check your Microsoft Learn transcript rather than relying on a downloadable certificate from a third party. For a new credential, use Microsoft Learn to identify a current certification whose published skills match your intended role.
Use official material as the boundary
Microsoft Learn provides self-directed modules, learning paths, and instructor-led options. Use those resources to build current product knowledge, but do not assume a current module is an official replacement blueprint for 98-368. The MTA retirement FAQ says Microsoft was moving toward fundamentals certifications and role-based offerings; it does not name one universal replacement for every 98-368 learner.
The official 98-368 objectives document is useful for historical scope. Record its revision context, including the January 31, 2018 effective date, then verify whether the technical detail you are studying is still relevant to the environment you want to work in. Legacy objectives and current implementation guidance are not automatically interchangeable.
What to avoid on dumps-focused pages
A page offering recalled questions, answer keys, or a promise that memorization guarantees a pass is not a substitute for official evidence. Exam dumps can be inaccurate, unauthorized, outdated, or disconnected from the documented skills. They also do not demonstrate that you can configure, secure, or troubleshoot a Windows device.
Use a practice question only as a diagnostic prompt: identify the concept being tested, explain why the correct option fits, explain why the alternatives do not, and then verify the underlying concept with Microsoft or another authoritative technical source. Never seek leaked questions or treat them as a legitimate preparation method.
A practical study roadmap for the legacy objectives
A staged plan works better than reading every topic once. First establish whether you need historical knowledge or a current credential. Then assess your hands-on gaps, study the dependency-heavy concepts first, and finish with mixed troubleshooting scenarios. Since 98-368 is retired, replace the final scheduling stage with a credential decision and a current Microsoft Learn search.
The sequence below is a practical recommendation, not an official Microsoft timetable or pass requirement. Adjust the pace to your existing experience. Keep a record of concepts you can explain, tasks you can perform, and questions you still answer by elimination rather than understanding.
Stage one: confirm the destination
Check whether 98-368 appears on your Microsoft Learn transcript. If it does, preserve the transcript evidence and do not schedule a duplicate attempt. If it does not, acknowledge that the retirement deadline has passed and select a current learning or certification target. This prevents wasted effort on an exam that cannot now be earned.
Next, define the role behind your goal. Desktop support, endpoint administration, networking, security, and cloud administration overlap but do not prioritize the same skills. Use that role to decide which portions of the old syllabus deserve deeper practice and which current Microsoft path should follow.
Stage two: map your baseline
Create a four-column inventory: Windows device knowledge, networking, identity, and protection. Under each heading, list what you can explain without notes, what you have configured or observed in a lab, and what remains unfamiliar. Add network devices and ports to the networking column, and include Active Directory under identity.
Do not measure readiness by the number of pages completed. A stronger baseline test is whether you can explain a simple connectivity failure, distinguish account types, describe the purpose of a firewall, and identify where antimalware fits in a defense plan. Mark any answer that depends on memorized wording for later review.
Stage three: study dependencies before details
Study the device and networking foundations first, then identity, then security controls. Networking concepts support later reasoning about firewalls and ports; identity concepts help you interpret access problems. This order is a recommendation based on conceptual dependency, not a published exam weighting.
For each topic, use a repeatable loop: read an authoritative explanation, draw or configure a small example where possible, explain the result in your own words, and write one troubleshooting question. If you cannot perform a lab, use a diagram or controlled thought experiment, but label it as conceptual rather than hands-on evidence.
Stage four: practise explanation and diagnosis
Turn notes into scenarios without attempting to recreate live exam questions. Examples include a Windows device that can reach one resource but not another, a user who authenticates but lacks permission, or a connection blocked after a firewall change. For every scenario, identify symptoms, likely layer, relevant control, safe verification step, and possible side effect of the proposed fix.
Mix the topics after you have studied them separately. A device problem may involve networking, identity, and security at once. The purpose of mixed practice is to stop you from selecting an answer merely because it contains the keyword from the question.
Stage five: make the next credential decision
When your old-objective review is complete, compare your demonstrated skills with current Microsoft fundamentals or role-based certification options in Microsoft Learn. Choose the path that reflects the work you want to perform now. If your employer or school requires evidence of an older MTA credential, ask that organization how it evaluates a retired certification and provide your Microsoft transcript where appropriate.
Do not buy a voucher for 98-368 based on an unofficial listing. Microsoft’s retirement policy states that retired exams cannot be taken and associated credentials cannot be earned after retirement. Treat any conflicting commercial claim as a reason to verify directly with Microsoft before spending money.
How to verify scheduling and delivery information
There are no current 98-368 delivery details to rely on in the supplied evidence because the exam retired. Microsoft’s general registration page explains how active exams are scheduled, but its provider, online, test-center, and appointment instructions should not be presented as proof that this legacy exam is available.
For a current Microsoft exam, begin from the certification overview or exam details page and use its Schedule exam option. Microsoft says the page may present Pearson VUE or Certiport depending on the candidate’s situation, and that the available provider options determine what delivery choices can be used. Check the active exam page rather than copying an old 98-368 booking workflow.
Microsoft’s general guidance says online delivery may require a system pre-check, while a test center provides a pre-configured environment. It also says that if an online option is not shown, it is not available from the exam provider. These are current scheduling instructions for available exams, not historical 98-368 facts.
For a current appointment, Microsoft advises signing in or creating a Learn Profile and ensuring the legal name matches the identification used by the provider. Accommodation requests should be made before scheduling so the provider has time to review them. Confirm all such details on the current official registration page because provider procedures can change.
Why old booking advice is risky
Legacy pages may preserve a former provider name, a former voucher process, or a former delivery option. None of those details establishes present availability. The MTA FAQ states that MTA licenses stopped being offered for purchase on June 30, 2021 and that MTA exams retired on June 30, 2022; those historical dates should not be mistaken for a present registration window.
If you already earned the certification, retirement does not erase it. Microsoft’s retirement guidance says an earned certification remains on the Microsoft Learn profile transcript. The MTA FAQ further explains that existing MTA certifications remain on the transcript and can be printed, although transcript placement can change after retirement.
Common preparation mistakes and better alternatives
The most damaging mistake is treating an obsolete exam as an active booking target. The next is studying broad technology terms without practising the relationships among a Windows client, network, directory, and security controls. Replace both habits with a current-status check, a documented scope map, and small diagnostic exercises that reveal whether you understand the underlying concept.
A third mistake is confusing an old objective document with current product guidance. The document records the historical skills-measured changes, effective January 31, 2018, but technology and Microsoft certification programs change. Use it to understand the legacy exam, then use current Microsoft Learn content for skills you intend to apply now.
A fourth mistake is trusting answer explanations that provide no technical reasoning. Require every explanation to identify the relevant component, the observed symptom, and the reason competing choices are less suitable. If a source cannot support that reasoning, leave the item unresolved and research the concept instead of memorizing the answer.
Finally, do not turn hands-on experience into a claim that a lab is mandatory when the supplied evidence does not say so. Microsoft stated that candidates should have hands-on experience with the listed technologies; the practical recommendation is to gain that experience where possible, not to invent a formal lab requirement or a guaranteed readiness threshold.
A final readiness check
For a historical knowledge review, you are in a stronger position when you can explain the role of each confirmed topic, trace a simple Windows networking problem, distinguish identity from authorization, and describe how antimalware and firewalls address different risks. For a current certification goal, add the current exam’s own skills outline and requirements; do not substitute the 98-368 list.
Keep two separate records: one for concepts learned from the legacy objectives and one for current skills validated by present Microsoft resources. This prevents an old credential name from overstating what you know today and makes your next training choice easier to defend to an employer, educator, or yourself.
Your next action after reading this guide
First, verify your Microsoft Learn transcript and confirm whether you already hold the MTA Mobility and Device Fundamentals certification. If you do, retain that record. If you do not, stop looking for a 98-368 appointment and choose a current Microsoft learning or certification route aligned with your target role.
Then use the historical objectives only where they help structure foundational practice. Work through Windows devices and networking, connect those ideas to Active Directory and security controls, and test yourself with explanations and troubleshooting diagrams. Finish by checking the active Microsoft Learn certification page for any current exam’s requirements, provider, and delivery options before you schedule or purchase anything.
This approach preserves the useful technical foundation behind 98-368 without presenting a retired exam as obtainable or relying on unsupported claims about its former format.
Conclusion
Exam 98-368 remains useful as a historical map of Windows device, mobility, networking, identity, and protection fundamentals, but it is not a current Microsoft certification opportunity. Use the official retirement information to settle the status question first, verify any credential through your transcript, and redirect new certification effort toward a current Microsoft fundamentals or role-based path. Study the old objectives through hands-on reasoning and troubleshooting rather than dumps or answer memorization.
