Is it possible to connect to a Thunderbolt 3 adapter from MacBook pro with thunderbolt 2?

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Is it possible to connect to a Thunderbolt 3 adapter from MacBook pro with thunderbolt 2?

I have a Thunderbolt 3 docking station that i want to use with my MacBook Pro 2014 with Thunderbolt 2.

I have tested the setup with a Windows machine using Thunderbolt 3. I bought a used thunderbolt adapter, but when connecting i get nothing. The adapter isn't event recognised by the MacBook (using a tested Thunderbolt 2 cable).

Could somebody confirm if the adapters should at least be recognised? My guess is that i should work since its a 2-way adapter.

MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on Jun 23, 2020 5:39 AM

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Answer 1

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leroydouglas

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Jun 23, 2020 6:45 AM in response to Ocap112

Ocap112 wrote:

I have a Thunderbolt 3 docking station that i want to use with my MacBook Pro 2014 with Thunderbolt 2.

I have tested the setup with a Windows machine using Thunderbolt 3. I bought a used thunderbolt adapter, but when connecting i get nothing. The adapter isn't event recognised by the MacBook (using a tested Thunderbolt 2 cable).

Could somebody confirm if the adapters should at least be recognised? My guess is that i should work since its a 2-way adapter.

Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter - Apple

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Answer 2

Jun 23, 2020 6:13 AM in response to Ocap112

You have to make sure the docking station is Thunderbolt 3, not USB-C. The connectors are the same. A USB-C, non-Thunderbolt, device will work with a computer Thunderbolt 3 port, but not with the Thunderbolt adapter.

Does the docking sttion have its own power supply? The Thunderbolt adapter won't provide power.

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Answer 3

Ocap112 Author

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Jun 23, 2020 7:51 AM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield

Hi Malcolm,

it is a Dell TB16, and I'm attempting to connect to the second TB port (the female connector), confirmed to work with an HP at least. Could it be the adapter that is not working? It does not show up in System report. Any way of testing it?

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Answer 4

Jun 23, 2020 8:00 AM in response to Ocap112

It is a lot more than just a dock.https://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_electronics/esuprt_docking_stations/dell-thunderbolt-dock-tb16_concept_guide_en-us.pdf

It's designed for Windows PCs and may need software that is not available on a Mac.

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Answer 5

Ocap112 Author

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Jun 23, 2020 10:11 AM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield

According to multiple sources (researched before buying the adapter) it works connecting it to a Macbook pro with thunderbolt 3 (on the YouTube videos I've seen in this topic, using the male connector.

I've tried using the dock with the female connector, and it works with an HP computer running a windows system without any drivers or anything installed to try the docking station.

In other words:

-Proven to work with Mac.

-Proven to work connectconnectingh the female port.

-While connecting the thunderbolt adapter with a thunderbolt 2 cable it does not show any sign in the system report under thunderbolt. I've tried this with two computers, with the same result.

I guess an option to test the adapter would be to connect a computer with thunderbolt 3 in target disk mode to one of the computers in trying. If I can get ahold of a newer Mac I could also test the dock with a Mac.

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Is it possible to connect to a Thunderbolt 3 adapter from MacBook pro with thunderbolt 2?

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