Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch): Connection options for Thunderbolt Macs

Summary

Learn about the connection options for your Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch).

Products Affected

Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch), Mac mini (Mid 2011), Mac mini Server (Mid 2011), MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2011), MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2011), MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011), MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011), MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011), iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011), iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)

The table below indicates how many Thunderbolt displays can be connected to Thunderbolt-capable Mac computers.

Thunderbolt-capable Macs with only Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated graphics can support one connected Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch):

  • MacBook Air (Mid 2011)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011)1
  • Mac mini (Mid 2011), 2.3 GHz
  • Mac mini with Lion Server (Mid 2011)
 One Thunderbolt display

Thunderbolt-capable Macs, with discrete AMD Radeon graphics can support up to two connected Apple Thunderbolt Displays.

  • MacBook Pro (15-inch and 17-inch, Early 2011)
  • iMac (Mid 2011)2
  • Mac mini (Mid 2011), 2.5 GHz3
 Two Thunderbolt displays
  1. You can connect a second Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch) to a 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the built-in display on the MacBook Pro will go dark. This is expected behavior.
  2. iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011) with two Thunderbolt ports supports a total of two Thunderbolt displays regardless of which Thunderbolt port each display is connected to.
  3. Mac mini with AMD graphics can support a HDMI compatible device on its HDMI port when using two Thunderbolt displays.

Mini DisplayPort displays will not light up if connected to the Thunderbolt port of an Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch). Displays connected via Mini DisplayPort video adapter to the Thunderbolt port of an Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch) will not work. Connect Mini DisplayPort displays directly to a Thunderbolt port on a Thunderbolt-capable Mac or to a compatible Thunderbolt peripheral. If the Mini DisplayPort display is connected to a Thunderbolt peripheral, the display should be connected at the end of the Thunderbolt chain.

Additional Information

If you are using the Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch) as a USB hub, refer to Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch): F8 key does not work using Windows with USB keyboard connected to display.

Learn more about using Boot Camp and Windows 7 with your Apple Thunderbolt Display.

Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple’s recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information.
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