Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter

  • Overview

    Easily connect your Thunderbolt-equipped Mac to a FireWire device with the Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter. Small and compact, it connects to the Thunderbolt port on your Mac computer, giving you a FireWire 800 port that supplies up to 7W for bus-powered peripherals like hard drives and audio devices.

    What’s in the Box

    Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter with built-in Thunderbolt cable

    System Requirements

    OS X v10.7.4 or later

    Thunderbolt-equipped Mac computer

  • 3.0 Average
    3 out of 5 stars
    Number of stars Percentage Number of reviews
    5 Stars(Read all reviews)
    35%
    		46reviews
    4 Stars(Read all reviews)
    7%
    		9reviews
    3 Stars(Read all reviews)
    9%
    		12reviews
    2 Stars(Read all reviews)
    11%
    		15reviews
    1 Star(Read all reviews)
    38%
    		51reviews
    Write a review
    • 1.0 out of 5 stars

      Having problems with bus powered drives

      I am a video editor. I own many FW800 drives. None of my drives that I use in the field work unless I'm connected to power. This is a major problem for me. Whe I am a video editor. I own many FW800 drives. None of my drives that I use in the field work unless I'm connected to power. This is a major problem for me. When I'm in the field capturing footage and need to offload data to a drive, I have to use my old laptop.

      • Written by Anthony A from Lyndhurst

      772 of 893 people found this useful

      Is this review useful?Having problems with bus powered drives

    • 3.0 out of 5 stars

      Works fine for data, is dicier for bus-powered devices

      The adapter seems to work fine for devices that have their own power supply but i have had mixed results on bus powered interfaces / drives. I've tested the MOT The adapter seems to work fine for devices that have their own power supply but i have had mixed results on bus powered interfaces / drives. I've tested the MOTU Ultralite Hybrid mk3 and Iomega eGo. They don't work via bus power. An old FireLite drive works fine via bus power. If you have devices that demand more, you may be SOL. It is a decent solution but isn't a true FireWire gateway.

      • Written by jef l from Chicago

      551 of 599 people found this useful

      Is this review useful?Works fine for data, is dicier for bus-powered devices

    • 5.0 out of 5 stars

      Finally!!!!!!!

      After buying the 15inch MBP and not being able to hook up my hard drives via firewire I was desperate for this... Better late than never. Thanks Apple

      • Written by william l from el cajon

      367 of 477 people found this useful

      Is this review useful?Finally!!!!!!!

    • 1.0 out of 5 stars

      I so wanted it to work . . .

      I have an expensive Firewire (FW) 800 external drive that I have been using for the last few years. Rock solid and fast. Got new iMac 21.5" for office. Thought I have an expensive Firewire (FW) 800 external drive that I have been using for the last few years. Rock solid and fast. Got new iMac 21.5" for office. Thought I could use this FW drive with new Thunderbolt port using this $29 adapter but no luck. Checked drive on two other FW 800 systems and the drive is perfect. Just to make absolute sure, I reformatted drive then tried again. No luck. Specifically, drive displays on desktop just fine (as any external drive does) but you are unable to transfer files to or from drive. Just a spinning beach ball. Also can't eject drive. Even "Force Eject" doesn't work. You have to unplug power to drive to get it off desktop. Too bad. Bought a seagate USB 3.0 drive and it is a little faster than FW 800.

      • Written by Nicholas C from Alexandria

      6 of 6 people found this useful

      Is this review useful?I so wanted it to work . . .

    • 4.0 out of 5 stars

      Does what I need

      I can't speak to the issue some have had with devices that require bus power. But, for my particular need, it does the trick. I use an old MiniDV camcorder w I can't speak to the issue some have had with devices that require bus power. But, for my particular need, it does the trick. I use an old MiniDV camcorder whose tape drive has become unreliable. The camera has a 4-conductor FireWire 400 output, so I decided to try using it as a direct camera input for iMovie. I purchased a FireWire 400 cable (4-conductor at one end and 8-conductor at the other) and patched that through a FireWire 400-to-800 adaptor plug to connect to a MacBook. This worked, but my newer MacBook Air has no FireWire. This Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter—effectively the third adapter in my Franken-cable—successfully connects my camcorder to my MacBook Air. Interestingly, the camera will not work properly with the current iMovie, but functions just fine with iMovie 9.09 (thankfully available as a free download, and still compatible with El Capitan).

      • Written by Scott R from Edmonton

      5 of 5 people found this useful

      Is this review useful?Does what I need

    • 5.0 out of 5 stars

      Worked for me

      First off, I'd like to give a shout out to my old 2004 MacBook Pro - that thing survived a few nasty spills, two owners, and the only things I had to replace on First off, I'd like to give a shout out to my old 2004 MacBook Pro - that thing survived a few nasty spills, two owners, and the only things I had to replace on it was the battery and one of the fans. In 2013 it finally gave up the ghost, and I wasn't too interested in repairing it right away since it was no longer possible to update its software (from Apple at least). I fired it up under "target disk mode", and used this adapter to transfer its HD contents between it and my (then) new 2013 MacBook Pro, and the process went smoothly. I can't speak for the other reviews, but for this application it worked well.

      • Written by Brandon T from Gladstone

      6 of 6 people found this useful

      Is this review useful?Worked for me

    Read all 133 customer reviews

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