Questions & Answers for Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter

I have successfully connected an old (2001) Sony DCR-PC110 Mini-DV camcorder to my MacBook Pro 2016 via a Thunderbolt / Firewire chain. I used the following adapters to connect the Sony's 1394 / Mini-DV connection to MacBook Pro USB-C: Apple Thunderbolt 3 [USB-C] to Thunderbolt 2 [Mini DisplayPort] (MMEL2AM/A) --> Apple Thunderbolt 2 [Mini DisplayPort] to Firewire 800 [9-Pin] (MD464LL/A) --> Tripp Lite Firewire 800 [9-Pin] to Firewire 400 [4-Pin, 1394] (F019-006). All in about $90.
I was able to control the camcorder and capture video from Mini-DV tapes.
This chain may work for other Firewire 400/800 peripherals.

• Answered by Greg F from Bristol
• Sep 8, 2017
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (How is possible to connect a new Thunderbolt 3 port to an old Firewire 400 port?)

No, the adapter works the other way around. It's to connect a Mac with a thunderbolt port to a device that has a Firewire800 port.

• Answered by Graham D
• Aug 2, 2012
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Is it possible to use this to connect an iMac with FireWire to a Thunderbolt external hard drive?)

I have tested a cross Thunderbolt to FireWire "Target Disk Mode" connection using an Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter both ways ("master" and "slave" roles done either way). The OS was 10.8.1. The computers were Mid 2012 MacBook Air with Thunderbolt (only) and 2010 MacBook Pro 13" with FireWire (only).

First of all I confirmed that the actual "Target Disk Mode" connection worked both ways when the machines switched roles as "master" or "slave". When the FireWire (only) machine is "slave" the FireWire Symbol shows on the screen. When the Thunderbolt (only) machine is slave you sometimes see both a Thunderbolt symbol and a modified FireWire symbol.

As a test of actual practical use for troubleshooting, I installed the latest version of DiskWarrior (4.4) on both machines and then ran DiskWarrior from the "master" machine" to the "slave machine" both ways having the Thunderbolt and FireWire machines switch roles.

Everything worked beautifully.

Interestingly I asked Apple floor staff at Apple Ginza Tokyo store (non-genius) if this would work, and I was told that "Target Disk Mode" used between Thunderbolt and FireWire machines had not yet been confirmed. The impression I got was that the Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter is mainly promoted for connection of FireWire equipped externals (like hard disks etc) to the new Thunderbolt machines. "Target Disk Mode" use seems to be "something nerdy" that few users would ever attempt :-D

• Answered by Stig B from 世田谷区
• Aug 30, 2012
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Will this allow users to start a Thunderbolt-equipped Mac in "Target Disk Mode" and access it via a FireWire-only Mac? (And vice-versa))

The 3rd Generation iPod was the first model to feature a dock connector, and had the play/pause, menu, forward, and back buttons in a line above the touch wheel.

You can Identify your iPod Model at Apple Support KB article HT1353

If this is the case, any USB or Firewire 400 to Dock Connector cable should be OK to use, just use a USB one, and plug it directly into your MacBook.

If you have a first or 2nd generation iPod (With a physical wheel, or a touch wheel with buttons arranged around the wheel (but not on the wheel) and with a FireWire port on the top of the unit (no dock connector) you will additionally need a Firewire 400 to Firewire 800 cable. You can plug the FW400 end into the iPod, and the FireWire 800 end will fit into this accessory. You can then use a specialist piece of software to extract the music from your iPod.

• Answered by Silas P from Elwood
• Sep 11, 2012
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Will this work with my (very old gen3) ipod?)

The mid 2007 iMacs should have a FW 800 jack suitable for an FW 800 cable that will connect to this adapter. If you have the cable, Migration Assistnt should work.

• Answered by Albert L from San Diego
• Dec 8, 2012
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Can i use this cable with migration assistant? I want to move from a mid2007 iMac to the new iMacs released today (Nov. 2012).)

I seen your post and tried it out because I was curious as well about this. I have a maxed out 2011 iMac with a Digi003 Factory Console. I switched from my native Firewire port and used the adapter to go thunderbolt. I launched a Pro Tools session and received a "hardware buffer underflow" error message every time i tried to playback and no matter how high I set the playback engine buffer sample it still occurred. I switched back to my native port and problem solved, everything was back to normal. I hope this helps.

• Answered by Dominick C from Simpsonville
• Apr 16, 2014
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Could I use this adapter to connect my Digidesign 003 factory to my iMac thunderbolt connect or would it lack sufficient power?)

There are also cables that have FW 400 on one end and FW 800 on the other. I find the cable solution a little more elegant and it's not another adapter to lose.

• Answered by Jef L from Chicago
• Aug 8, 2012
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (thunderbolt to firewire400 adapter?)

Just bought a Mac Thunderbolt to Firewire Adapter to fit my PC Motherboard (GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP4). It did not work. The physical female end inside of the motherboard sits differently than the adapter Mac has. You should also be aware that the side of the packaging states "Compatible with Thunderbolt-equipped mac computers." It stinks, but I will be returning it and waiting for more compatible adapters for sure or maybe just have to keep PCIe Firewire card for my audio work. It still works fine; just wanted a different alternative.

• Answered by Adam B from Baton Rouge
• May 11, 2013
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Will the Apple Thunderbolt to firewire adapter work on PCs (Asus, for example) that have the Thunderbolt ports ?)

No. This device creates a FireWire port for the host Mac when connected to a Thunderbolt port. It needs software drivers to do this, and cannot function as a converter on it's own. Because of this, it cannot be used as a bridge to do the opposite. (That would be a completely different adapter, but as far as I know no one has made one yet.)

• Answered by John S from Notre Dame
• Aug 8, 2012
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Can this adapter be used to connect thunderbolt external hard drive to older mac with firewire 800?)