mbp 16-inch bootcamp - thunderbolt display not recognized on bootcamp

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mbp 16-inch bootcamp - thunderbolt display not recognized on bootcamp

I just bought a new macbook pro 16 inch and installed bootcamp - unfortunately it doesnt seem to recognize my Thunderbolt Display. It worked on my old macbook 13-inch 2018 in bootcamp and it works when I’m booted into MacOS Catalina.

In windows 10 bootcamp, it doesn’t even show up in device manager nor on the AMD display preferences.

I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the AMD drivers so I tried installing the optimized display drivers from BootcampDrivers.com and that didn’t help.

Has anyone had any luck with this? Or know of any way to fix it? I hope apple simply updates the bootcamp drivers but that could take ages (if they even decide to), so any tips/workarounds would be much appreciated 🙏🏻✨

MacBook Pro 16", macOS 10.15

Posted on Mar 18, 2020 9:11 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

sinjinhawke Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 20, 2020 4:42 PM in response to Loner T

oh wow! seems like the key was the “Fast Startup” option.

i did smc reset, nvram reset and power cycled the display & computer.. this didnt help

fast startup was disabled - i so tried enabling it and it worked :)

thanks so much!! really appreciate you taking the time to help

Anyone else who needs the fix:

1) in windows open up ’power & sleep settings’

2) click ‘additional power settings’

3) click ‘choose what power buttons do’

4) click ‘change settings that are currently unavailable’

5) tick the option ‘turn on fast startup’

6) Save Changes and then restart

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Answer 2

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Mar 19, 2020 9:02 PM in response to sinjinhawke

sinjinhawke wrote:

I just bought a new macbook pro 16 inch and installed bootcamp - unfortunately it doesnt seem to recognize my Thunderbolt Display.

Can you clarify - are you referring to the Apple Thunderbolt Display?

It worked on my old macbook 13-inch 2018 in bootcamp and it works when I’m booted into MacOS Catalina.

How was the display connected to the 2018 Mac? Are the connections different on the 2019 Mac? Both would need a USBc-to-TB2 adapter.

In windows 10 bootcamp, it doesn’t even show up in device manager nor on the AMD display preferences.

I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the AMD drivers so I tried installing the optimized display drivers from BootcampDrivers.com and that didn’t help.

Can you try the standard AMD drivers?

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Answer 3

sinjinhawke Author

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8 points

Mar 19, 2020 10:52 PM in response to Loner T

Yes its the Apple Thunderbolt Display.

Using usb-c to tb2 adaptor (worked for 2018 mbp bootcamp and works in MacOs on the 16-inch)

The standard AMD drivers were initially installed, and it didn’t work.

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Answer 4

sinjinhawke Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 11, 2020 4:34 PM in response to Loner T

Hi again - so the fast startup workaround only works about 60% of the time, and if the display is unplugged the computer needs to be restarted in order to recognize it - becomes a bit annoying over time. I was wondering if maybe you knew a more robust solution for this issue?

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Answer 5

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Mar 20, 2020 9:40 AM in response to sinjinhawke

Do any of the USB or TB ports on the Display work when a peripheral is connected to either?

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Answer 6

sinjinhawke Author

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Mar 20, 2020 10:09 AM in response to Loner T

If peripherals are connected they are powered by the display but not transmitted to the computer.

I tried unplugging them all to see if it would make a difference but didn’t change anything.

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Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Mar 20, 2020 10:24 AM in response to sinjinhawke

Are you 'hot-plugging' the Display or is it connected before the Mac reboots into Windows?

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Answer 8

sinjinhawke Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 20, 2020 10:34 AM in response to Loner T

I’ve tried both - same result when plugged in on boot and when plugged in after boot.

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Answer 9

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Mar 20, 2020 11:13 AM in response to sinjinhawke

Can you run a SMC and NVRAM Reset on the Mac and test? Is Windows Fast Start enabled?

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Answer 10

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Mar 20, 2020 4:48 PM in response to sinjinhawke

Excellent! Be aware that Fast Startup leaves ports in a powered state.

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Answer 11

Loner T

Level 9

59,477 points

Apr 11, 2020 6:14 PM in response to sinjinhawke

You are exposing the limitations of the Windows drivers. When the Display is unplugged, Fast Start is no longer valid. Unfortunately, The 2018 and 2019 Windows drivers are different in that respect.

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mbp 16-inch bootcamp - thunderbolt display not recognized on bootcamp

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