Questions & Answers for Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter

This should be possible. Thunderbolt 2 allows 20 Gbps. A 4K 60 Hz display takes about 16 Gbps over Thunderbolt. This leaves 4 Gbps for everything else (for transmit, and up to 20 Gbps for receive).

That will reduce the write speed of a USB 3.0 device (normally 5 Gbps) or a USB 3.1 gen 2 device connected to one of the Thunderbolt 3 ports (normally 10 Gbps). The read speed should not be affected.

You may wish to connect the 4K display directly to your MacBook Pro 2013 instead of the dock so that the write speeds aren't affected.

According to apple technical support document HT206587 "Using 4K displays, 5K displays, and Ultra HD TVs with your Mac", the MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013) doesn't support 4K at 60 Hz unless it is a MST display?

You did not specify if your MacBook Pro is 13 inch or 15 inch, or if it is early 2013 or late 2013. Your MacBook Pro may be limited to 4K at 30 Hz. In that case, the display will use about 8 Gbps over Thunderbolt, allowing 12 Gbps for transmitting.

• Answered by Joseph V from Fort Langley
• 6/09/2017
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Can I connect a Belkin Thunderbolt 3 dock to a Thunderbolt 2 MacBook Pro 2013 with this adapter? The dock will have a 4K screen, keyboard etc.)

The MacBook Pro 2015 has Thunderbolt 2. I was able to use this adapter to connect a Thunderbolt 3 hard drive to a MacBook Pro 2015 and it worked.

The document HT207266 "Connect devices and displays with the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter" on Apple's support website lists compatibility information.

It will not work if your device is one of these:
1) A Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) bus-powered device. Your device needs to have it's own power cord.
2) A USB-C device that doesn't have Thunderbolt. Note that a USB-C connector does not mean it's Thunderbolt 3.

Thunderbolt 3 uses a USB-C connector and supports USB 3.1 gen 2 and Thunderbolt 3 protocols, as well as DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4.

The MacBook with USB-C connector (not MacBookPro 2016) does not have Thunderbolt, but it does support USB 3.1 gen 1, DisplayPort 1.2, and HDMI 1.4.

You did not state which USB hub you have. I think your USB hub might not have Thunderbolt at all. A USB hub wouldn't include Thunderbolt unless it also has ports that are not USB. Actually, USB-C docks can have non-USB ports too.

If you're hub does not have Thunderbolt, then the Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter will not help, unless you also have a Thunderbolt 3 dock which has a USB-C port that you can connect your USB hub to.

I am unaware of any Thunderbolt 2 to USB (not Thunderbolt 3) adapters except for Thunderbolt 2 docks. Thunderbolt 2 docks usually include USB 3.0 ports that are USB-A, so in that case you would need a USB-C male to USB-A male cable for your hub (only if the cable that connects your hub to the computer can be replaced, otherwise you would need a USB-C female to USB-A male adapter but I don't think any of those comply with the USB Type-C specification so I would stay away from them).

• Answered by Joseph V from Fort Langley
• 10/02/2017
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Can this connect a tunderbold3 device to a macbook pro 2015?)

The Glyph Blackbox Pro 8TB is a USB 3.1 gen 2 device that has a USB-C connector. It is not a Thunderbolt device.

You need a USB-C to USB-A cable to connect it to your MacBook Pro's USB port. The MacBook Pro's USB port is only 5 Gb/sec though but that is more than enough for the 8TB drive.

Since you don't have a Thunderbolt 3 device, you may ignore the following:

The Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter works in either direction but it is only for Thunderbolt devices.
It allows a Thunderbolt 3 computer to use Thunderbolt 2 devices.
It also allows a Thunderbolt 2 computer to use Thunderbolt 3 devices.
You need a Thunderbolt 2 cable to connect your MacBook Pro to the Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter.
If System Information.app says a Thunderbolt 3 device is not supported, then you may need to use a Thunderbolt 3 enabler patch "tb3-enabler".

• Answered by Joseph V from Fort Langley
• 12/03/2017
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (I have a hard drive with a Thunderbolt 3(USB-C) cable and need to convert to a Thunderbolt 2 to plug my Macbook Pro Retina (2013). How can I do this?)

No, the Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter does not pass power to charge the MacBook Pro.

Read Apple support document HT207266 "Connect devices and displays with the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter".

• Answered by Joseph V from Fort Langley
• 18/03/2017
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Will this also deliver power from an Apple thunderbolt display?)

Probably, but Thunderbolt 3 devices on the other end will be limited to Thunderbolt 2 speeds.

• Answered by Joseph V from Fort Langley
• 8/06/2017
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Is it possible to use THUNDERBOLT 2 cable with this adapter to act as thunderbolt 3 extender?)

Confirming (I bought the adapter and tried it) this indeed works

• Answered by Richard J from Raleigh
• 4/05/2017
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Can I daisy chain two Thunderbolt displays to the MacBook Pro using the USB-C Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter? MBP->Adapter->TBD-(chain)->TBD?)

If you are attempting to connect a Thunderbolt 3 device to a Thunderbolt 2 computer, or to connect a Thunderbolt 2 device to a Thunderbolt 3 computer, then yes, this adapter will work regardless of platform/OS.

• Answered by Thomas N from Aurora
• 30/10/2016
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Can this adapter be used on a Windows platform/OS?)