How To Use Thunderbolt Display

From 1999 until 2016, Apple released and continued to sell a series of external digitally connected displays optimized for Mac users. The displays started with DVI connectors, shifted to the Apple-made ADC connection, then back to DVI, expanded to dual-link DVI, pivoted to industry-standard Mini DisplayPort, and finally ended with Thunderbolt 2 connectors. Later on not making a display for a while, Apple tree returned to the market with its ain Thunderbolt 3 brandish, the Pro Display XDR, and began shipping it in December 2020 for a minimum of $5,000.

And, gosh, do a lot of those older Apple monitors remain out in the field and in use. Apple never releases much in the way of unit sales, but it'due south a fair guess that several million displays were sold. While monitors dim and components fail over time, re-using an external Apple display with a new USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 Mac remains 1 of the top questions Macworld gets from its readers

That question has cropped up more than ever since vast numbers of people who worked in office have suddenly had to shift to working from home. Many of u.s. take or prefer a two-monitor display; some readers have sent u.s.a. pictures of several monitors driven by the same Mac.

You may have upgraded your Mac since 2015 or 2016 and abandoned an older Apple brandish for compatibility reasons, but now it looks awfully appealing for your piece of work-at-home situation. Permit's look through the options across generations of Apple equipment.

(Likewise, don't forget that if you have an iPad that tin run iOS 13 and a Mac model released since virtually 2015 running macOS Catalina, you can apply the Sidecar feature to extend your Mac with an iPad. If you don't meet the parameters or want other options, check out the more broadly compatible Luma Display, equally well every bit Duet Brandish, which works with Apple tree and other mobile and desktop platforms. We also have instructions on connecting more than modem displays (and fifty-fifty an erstwhile iMac) equally a 2nd brandish. )

In this article, I discuss compatibility with Thunderbolt 3, which relies on the USB-C connector. All of Apple tree'due south current Macs include Thunderbolt three, a loftier-speed data-transfer standard. Apple's version as well allows for backwards compatibility with Thunderbolt ii and via adapters can straight connect to HDMI, DisplayPart, and USB 2 and three, among other standards. Docks extend compatibility further, with Mini DisplayPort, VGA, DVI, and other formats. (While we've written about this before beyond several articles, we decided to consolidate everything we knew, alongside newer and ameliorate-reviewed adapters, into a single place.)

But a single Mac model e'er included a USB-C connector that didn't include Thunderbolt 3: the 12-inch MacBook that Apple tree introduced in 2015, updated in subsequent years, and discontinued in 2019. I'll note below exceptions for clarity.

Because information technology'southward more likely you lot take access to a newer Apple Display than an older one, I'll address the four digital standards Apple used in contrary order: Thunderbolt 2, Mini DisplayPort, ADC, and DVI (including dual-link DVI for larger displays).

If you're non sure what display you take, look at the back to find its model number (non its name, which often remains the aforementioned across many revisions), then enter that detail into Google to find the full technical specifications and connector type.

Finally, a MagSafe alarm. Apple offered MagSafe and MagSafe 2 connectors with some of its later-generation monitors to let y'all utilise the brandish as a hub: plug in one or ii cables and MagSafe, and your laptop was gear up to go. Apple has never licensed MagSafe to third parties, fifty-fifty though you can notice MagSafe "adapters" for USB-C, these products likely violate Apple patents and haven't been certified by Apple.

Equally a outcome, if you use one and it damages your Mac, you could lose your computer and unbacked-up data for the small convenience of reusing the brandish's charging port, and it's plausible that Apple would try to deny warranty repair (if it remained under warranty). Just read the one-star reviews on these products for more than details. I've also noticed that retailers are cracking down on their sale, every bit there are most none currently available at Amazon as I write this.

Thunderbolt 2

apple cinema display — The back of the Apple tree Thunderbolt Display.

From 2011 to 2016, Apple sold its Apple Thunderbolt Display, a 27-inch 2560×1440-pixel monitor that relied on a Thunderbolt 2 connector to acquit data to and from a Mac along with a MagSafe or MagSafe 2 connector (depending on model) for charging. The monitor featured a 720p iSight (front end-facing) camera, mic and speakers, and several connections: one gigabit ethernet port, i FireWire 800 port, and three USB ports.

mac911 mdp tb symbols — DisplayPort connector symbol (left); Thunderbolt 2 (correct)

Yous can expect at the squat Thunderbolt 2 jack to find a lightning-commodities symbol to ensure it's non an earlier monitor that uses an identical-actualization connector shape, just only handles Mini DisplayPort. (That symbol is a rectangle with a vertical line on either side.)

Apple sells a Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter ($49) that lets you simply plug the Apple Thunderbolt Display into the adapter and the adapter into a Thunderbolt 3 port. (Note: This does not work with a 12-inch MacBook, which has disappointed many purchasers.)

While the Thunderbolt 2 cable doesn't ability to a Mac laptop, it should let utilise of all the other ports on the brandish. If you have trouble getting the camera to work, seeing but a black feed, try this trick to set a software agent at Stephen Foskett's blog.

Mini DisplayPort

Moving dorsum in time, nosotros look at the LED Cinema Display. A 24-inch model (1920×1200 pixels) was sold from 2008 to 2010, and a 27-inch version (2560×1440 pixels) from 2010 to 2013. This display series sported a three-ended cable with a USB ii.0 plug, MagSafe power, and a MiniDisplayPort. It likewise had a 480p iSight, a mic, and speakers, and a USB two.0 hub with iii ports built into the back.

apple cinema display 24 — Apple LED Cinema Display

Even though Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt 3 carry DisplayPort video using the DisplayPort standard, the way in which that signal is put over the wire makes information technology incompatible with Thunderbolt. Disruptive, I know, and an irritant for people since early Thunderbolt days.

To utilise an LED Movie theater Display with a modern Mac over USB-C, you need an adapter or a dock. Either adapter or dock can be USB-C compatible (for a 12-inch MacBook) or Thunderbolt 3 uniform.

(Note! You cannot pass single DVI or dual-link DVI with a DVI-to-Mini DisplayPort adapter through a Mini DisplayPort adapter. The DVI-based indicate can't be encapsulated in that sequence. Most adapters and docks warn buyers, some of whom purchase anyhow and leave 1-star reviews in the comments.)

You lot have 3 solid choices for adapters:

Laissez passer-through USB-C power: A great adapter with USB-C ability passthrough is the UPTab USB-C to Mini DisplayPort Adapter ($34.95). That'south useful with a laptop with one or two ports, similar the 12-inch MacBook and all Thunderbolt 3 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models.
Video only: : If you accept extra ports, are working with a desktop estimator, or are using a MacBook Air and don't mind occupy 1 port with power and one with the brandish adapter, your all-time option is the ITD Itanda USB-C to Mini DisplayPort Adapter, which is half as expensive ($18.99).
Monoprice option: Monoprice offers a elementary adapter, its Monoprice Select Series USB-C to Mini DisplayPort Adapter ($24).

With docks, there are options abound, but the cost is far higher. If you are looking to rescue an LED Movie house Display and don't need the assortment of other ports in a dock, consider purchasing a far less expensive DisplayPort or HDMI display and utilise a USB-C adapter for either of those formats to connect to your Mac.

Notwithstanding, if yous want the ports and to connect an LED Movie theater Display, consider these docks.

For the 24-inch USB Movie theatre Display:

OWC USB-C Dock ($119), in addition to Mini DisplayPort, this powered dock includes gigabit ethernet, one USB-C USB 3.i port, 4 USB Type A 3.1 ports, a combination audio input/output port, and an SD Card slot. If you subsequently switch to another monitor, OWC includes a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. OWC notes explicitly its dock cannot back up the 27-inch model LED Movie house Display.

For either the 24-inch or 27-inch USB Cinema Brandish:

OWC Thunderbolt iii Dock ($294.75) brings two Thunderbolt 3 ports to the mix, as well every bit gigabit ethernet, a combo sound in/out jack, optical (Due south/PDIF) output, SD and Micro SD Card slots, and 4 USB 3.one Type A ports. Information technology supports simultaneous displays via Mini DisplayPort and Thunderbolt three.

ADC and DVI

Finally, we're all the way dorsum to the earliest range of digitally continued Apple LCD displays of a usable size. From 1999 to 2004, Apple released the 22-inch Apple Cinema Brandish (DVI in 1999, ADC in 2000), the 23-inch Cinema Hard disk drive Display (ADC, 2002), the twenty-inch Apple Cinema Display (ADC, 2003; DVI, 2004), and the 23-inch (DVI, 2004) and 30-inch (dual-link DVI, 2004) Movie house HD Display models. These ranged from 1600×1024 pixels for the earliest to 2560×1600 for the last largest monitor.

For all the DVI-based displays except the 30-inch HD model, y'all can plough to a simple, inexpensive adapter. For displays with ADC, you will take to find on eBay or elsewhere an ADC to DVI adapter, which were once plentiful. You might even take one in your junk box of old adapters. (Don't try to fool me; I know you lot have 1.)

A few well-reviewed adapters include 1 from Benfei ($16.99), Cable Matters ($19.99), and Weton ($25). Weton's adapter too supports output to VGA and HDMI.

The dual-link DVI port on the thirty-inch Apple Picture palace Hd Brandish requires a different approach to pair together the carve up DVI signals that drove the larger display. At to the lowest degree one reader had success with the Club 3D dual-link DVI to USB-C adapter ($44).

You can likewise opt to find a Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter, which is no longer manufactured, just shows up on eBay and elsewhere from time to time. Monoprice also offered such an item, but information technology's out of stock, likewise, of course. This adapter paired with a Mini DisplayPort adapter or dock with the port noted for Mini DisplayPort-era monitors has worked for some.

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