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Do Thunderbolt 3 USB fit USB C ports

Are Thunderbolt 3 USB cords fit USB C ports without a adapter?

Posted on Sep 24, 2020 8:36 AM

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Posted on Sep 24, 2020 8:50 AM

The connector used for ThunderBolt-3 is exactly a USB-C connector.


Note that USB-C is the name of the connector, ONLY, and you must pay close and careful attention to the FUNCTION of any cables you buy. Cable manufacturers are mostly not very clever about this.


The classic counter-example of how we would LIKE it to work is the MacBook Charge cable. It contains only charge conductors, and no high-speed data pathways at all, but has USB-C connectors at each end. This cable looks great, but can not possibly run a display or a fast external drive. But it turns out it can further vex you because it does have slow USB-2 (suitable for a keyboard) which it uses in negotiating USB-C power delivery.

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Question marked as Best reply

Sep 24, 2020 8:50 AM in response to davidcar12

The connector used for ThunderBolt-3 is exactly a USB-C connector.


Note that USB-C is the name of the connector, ONLY, and you must pay close and careful attention to the FUNCTION of any cables you buy. Cable manufacturers are mostly not very clever about this.


The classic counter-example of how we would LIKE it to work is the MacBook Charge cable. It contains only charge conductors, and no high-speed data pathways at all, but has USB-C connectors at each end. This cable looks great, but can not possibly run a display or a fast external drive. But it turns out it can further vex you because it does have slow USB-2 (suitable for a keyboard) which it uses in negotiating USB-C power delivery.

Do Thunderbolt 3 USB fit USB C ports

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