Connecting a USB-c drive to a Thunderbolt 2 Port

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Ogmoreman Author

Level 1

9 points

Connecting a USB-c drive to a Thunderbolt 2 Port

Is there ant way to connect a USB-C ssd external drive to an iMac with a Thunderbolt 2 Port?

Posted on Jan 26, 2021 6:08 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Jack-19

Level 8

46,098 points

Jan 26, 2021 10:40 AM in response to Ogmoreman

Well, there are no real solutions for taking a USB-C drive to a Thunderbolt 2 Mac, if the drive does not have an external power supply. Unfortunately, you will have to deal with the slightly slower speeds of USB. A SSD though is still really fast!

Cheers,

Jack

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Answer 2

Jack-19

Level 8

46,098 points

Jan 26, 2021 6:12 AM in response to Ogmoreman

Hi Ogmoreman,

If the drive uses a separate power supply, then use this, https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEL2AM/A/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter?afid=p238%7CsXJVdwN9q-dc_mtid_1870765e38482_pcrid_246386725857_pgrid_14874603490_&cid=aos-us-kwgo-pla-btb--slid---product-MMEL2AM/A and https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD862LL/A/apple-thunderbolt-cable-05-m?afid=p238%7Cscv0ve4qN-dc_mtid_1870765e38482_pcrid_246386725857_pgrid_14874603490_&cid=aos-us-kwgo-pla-btb--slid---product-MD862LL/A.

If the drive uses one cord, the same cord for power and data, like most SSDs, then you can use: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HN892ZM/A/mophie-usb-a-cable-with-usb-c-connector-1-m?fnode=59763c5953cee5b866e90c9302cfe4904f7df5e2143729e70fdb16999d281bbf670c88549a4947f13e284666d9e63394befe3359dbfb36f6afda3ffc7c0cb4d7ce9ce14e0b4afd4c3d989821086cab9c4df58ba74e52e0b8f1f4642da9384c225871ea1f3eff725cec2afb9f61f0463a&fs=f%3Dthunderbolt-thunderbolt2-thunderbolt3-usb-usb20-usbc%26fh%3D4595%252B309a%252B401f%252B30a3%252B30a6%252B4891%252B47f6 or https://www.bestbuy.com/site/belkin-3-usb-3-1-type-a-to-usb-type-c-cable-works-with-chromebook-black/9511001.p?skuId=9511001.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Jack

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Answer 3

Ogmoreman Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 26, 2021 7:27 AM in response to Jack-19

Hi Jack,

First thanks for your prompt response, unfortunately my USB-C SSD NVMe drive does not have a separate power supply to enable use of the Apple adapter. I would consider investing in one with a separate power supply if I could find one.

Because I use this drive to move between different devices (none of which have anything better than USB-C) I already have a USB 3 adapter similar to your second suggestion but if I can I would really like to find a way of connecting to the Thunderbolt 2 port on my iMac (with internal ssd and no USB-C) for the occaisional more intensive work. Also the extra for a Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C drive plus adapter doesn't seem like good value for my purposes but it may be my only solution as I can see that a number of other have asking for similar information.

Thanks again.