Questions & Answers for Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

If you own a Macintosh Computer with a Thunderbolt port, then I recommend the Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet adapter because it has Gigabit speeds and works on a standard network.

• Answered by Joshua G from Ft Lauderdale
• 11 3, 12
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (What's the difference between Thunderbolt to gigabit ethernet and USB to Ethernet?)

I tested it and no it does not. You will need a cross connect cable instead.
Good news, if needed you can increase the MTU to 9000

• Answered by Frederic M from Montreal
• 10 26, 12
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Does the Thunderbolt/Gigabit Ethernet Adapter support auto cable detect?)

No, it's Thunderbolt 2. In order to use it with a Thunderbolt 3 port, you'd need a Thunderbolt-3-to-Thunderbolt-2 adapter. There's one on the store... search for "Thunderbolt 3 USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter"

As unwieldy (and expensive) as chaining two adapters together may seem, at the time of this writing, it's probably the most reliable way to have a highly-portable, high-performance, reliable Ethernet connection. Any other USB-C dongle-style adapter available today will add its Ethernet port via the Type-C port's USB 3 channel, not the Thunderbolt channel. This makes the adapter much more prone to issues with reliability, driver compatibility, heat, and CPU usage.

If something less portable is an option for you, I'd recommend using a Thunderbolt 3 dock to add an Ethernet port, since it would use the Thunderbolt channel, giving you better reliability and performance. I've used one by CalDigit with no issues, and Apple sells one by Belkin here on the store... search for "Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock HD"

• Answered by Matthew J from Dublin
• 04 26, 18
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Is this Thunderbolt 3?)

The previous "yes" answer is correct, it does indeed work under Wndows 7 Bootcamp, but the answer is a bit light on detail for a couple of the steps. Here's a fuller explanation:

1) download the driver per the instructions in the previous answer
2) unzip the drivers to a temporary folder on your hard drive
3) connect the adaptor to the thunderbolt port
4) reboot Windows

Windows should automatically detect the adaptor now and install it. You may need to point the installer at the location where you unzipped the drivers.

If Windows doesn't automatically install the device...

1) go to Start > Control Panel > Hardware & Sound and open Device Manager
2) click the name of your computer at the top of the device tree
3) click Action at the top of the window and choose Add Legacy Hardware
4) Click Next
5) Select "Install hardware that I manually select..."
6) Choose Network Adaptors
7) Choose "Have Disk"
8) Browse to the location of the drivers you unzipped earlier.
9) Click the .inf file
10) Select Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet from the list of drivers available
11) OK and install

You may need to reboot again with the adaptor plugged into the Thunderbolt port to finish the job,

• Answered by Benjamin C from London
• 07 10, 12
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Will Windows 7 (bootcamp) recognize a thunderbolt ethernet adapter?)

Garth, I'm sorry Duel NIC isn't supported.

• Answered by Joshua G from Ft Lauderdale
• 11 3, 12
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (I have a MBP 15" Early 2011 with Thunderbolt. Will this adapter allow me to have a dual NIC setup on my MacBook?)

The end of the adapter that connects to your Mac actually contains a tiny chip that handles the "translation" to/from the Ethernet and Thunderbolt ports. It's completely normal for it (or any other Thunderbolt connector) to become warm during use, so there's nothing to worry about. :)

• Answered by Jacob P from Meridian
• 06 25, 13
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (why is thunderbolt adapter hot?)

Yes. Currently have one running on 9000 and all is good.
Hope this helps.

• Answered by Oli S
• 06 20, 12
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Will this Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet adapter handle jumbo frames?)

yes

• Answered by Andreas G
• 04 17, 15
• Flag as inappropriate Answer (Can this adapter be daisy chained to my computer via a thunderbolt external hard drive?)