Which USB cable for target disk mode on MacBook Air?

Hello,

You will need a Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt cable. I am not sure which MacBook Air you have as Apple did not release a MacBook Air in 2016. MacBook Air 2018 and newer have a USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 port whereas older models have a Thunderbolt 2 port.

If the display shows a USB symbol while the Air is in Target Disk Mode, then you should be able to connect it using USB. If it doesn't automatically mount, then launch Disk Utility and manually mount/unlock the drive. Recently external drives do not automatically mount all the time.

If the Air's display does not show a USB symbol in Target Disk Mode, then you need a Thunderbolt cable/adapter as @zmclearan mentions.

Another option if you have a spare external drive is you could boot the Air in Recovery Mode or Internet Recovery Mode to install macOS onto the external, then Option Boot the external so you can access the internal drive.

Hello,

You can find a model number on the bottom of your MacBook Air. It sounds like you just need a Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 2 cable.