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Thunderbolt 3 SSD and USB 3 port

is it possible to connect a thunderbolt 3 SSD to a usb 3 port on my late 2015 iMac?

Posted on Feb 8, 2020 5:49 PM

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6 replies

Feb 8, 2020 6:12 PM in response to smuseby2

Not sure if the reverse ise true...


USB-C Drives


The closest alternative to a Thunderbolt 3 drive is a USB-C version, as they also consist of a drive within a portable enclosure and a USB Type-C connector on the cable, and are compatible with Thunderbolt 3 ports. The main difference is that Thunderbolt 3 can offer up to 40Gbps of bandwidth under optimal conditions, whereas USB-C can handle up to 10Gbps.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/12/04/the-best-thunderbolt-3-ssd-and-hard-drives-for-your-macbook-pro-macbook-air-mac-mini-or-imac

Feb 9, 2020 5:18 AM in response to smuseby2

First and foremost, USB-C is only a connector standard and not a protocol

standard. A USB-C connector can be used for Thunderbolt3, display interface,

charging interface, etc. and of course USB. While having a "universal" connector

in someways is great, it has also created a world of confusion. Manufacturers

have not helped this either.


So, bottom line, the user needs to be more aware of the accessory one is buying and

the capabilities of the port on their machine that they are plugging that device into.


Simply put, currently anyway, if the symbol on the accessory's connector is a little

lightning bolt, it can only be used with a Thunderbolt port. If the device has one of the

USB symbols and a USB-C connector, it can be connected to a Thunderbolt 3 port only

if the port supports USB 3.1 connectivity. While all current Macs support this functionality,

it is not a "requirement" that all Thunderbolt 3 ports support it.


Feb 9, 2020 11:58 AM in response to woodmeister50

I understand we're talking about connectors. My question is: with an adapter, is it possible to connect & use a Thunderbolt 3 SSD with my late 2015 iMac which has USB 3 ports. Assuming the answer is 'yes', the follow-on question is how compromised is the performance of the Thunderbolt 3 SSD.

Looking at the specs for the SSD, since there is no mention of USB 3 support, perhaps the answer is 'no'.

Feb 9, 2020 1:57 PM in response to smuseby2

smuseby2 wrote:

I understand we're talking about connectors. My question is: with an adapter, is it possible to connect & use a Thunderbolt 3 SSD with my late 2015 iMac which has USB 3 ports.

No. I know it is very confusing and even I have problems trying to identify what is compatible with something else. Maybe this will help to make things a bit more clear:


A Thunderbolt drive must be connected to a Thunderbolt port on a computer.


A USB drive can be connected to a computer with traditional USB-A port or possibly to a computer with a USB-C connector only if that USB-C port actually supports the USB protocol. On Apple computers the USB-C ports support both Thunderbolt and USB protocols so you can connect a USB drive to the USB-C Thunderbolt/USB port on recent Macs, but this may not be true of other brands of computers.



Thunderbolt 3 SSD and USB 3 port

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