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.
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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 must be using macOS Sierra or later, and the device using Thunderbolt 3 must provide its own power.
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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.