About the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter
Connect a Mac that has a Thunderbolt 3 port to a device that uses a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 cable.
The Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter connects a Mac that has a Thunderbolt 3 port to a device that uses a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 cable.
This adapter is not compatible with USB-C ports that don’t support Thunderbolt 3, such as USB-C hubs or the USB-C port on MacBook models from 2015 or later.
Video
Thunderbolt
or Thunderbolt 2
Use the Thunderbolt port of this adapter to connect your Mac to a display that uses a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 cable. For example, you can use this adapter to connect your Mac to an Apple Thunderbolt Display or LG Thunderbolt 2 display.
This adapter is not compatible with displays that use DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort, such as the Apple LED Cinema Display. Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 are not the same as Mini DisplayPort
, though the ports have the same shape.
Data transfer
Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2
You can also use the Thunderbolt port of this adapter to connect an external hard drive, dock, Mac or other device that uses a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 cable for data transfer. This adapter supports data-transfer speeds up to 10Gbps with Thunderbolt devices, and up to 20Gbps with Thunderbolt 2 devices.
This adapter is bidirectional, which means you can use it to connect Thunderbolt 3 devices to a Mac that has a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 port. In that case, the Mac device must be using macOS Sierra or later, and the device using Thunderbolt 3 must provide its own power.
Learn more
This adapter doesn't receive power over Thunderbolt, so you can't charge your Mac by connecting the adapter to an external Thunderbolt display or other device that delivers power over Thunderbolt.