can I use a mid 2010 iMac as a display?

Question

can I use a mid 2010 iMac as a display?

I want to use my 27in iMac (mid2010 running OS X El Capitan) as a target display for my MacBook Pro 2019. I connected the thunderbolt cable with the adapter (USB-C) to my laptop, but it's not working when I press Command F2. I looked it up and now it says that it requires my iMac to have High Sierra OS - what do I do now? Is that possible? Is it worth it? I read some things online that say that upgrading to High Sierra will make my iMac basically not work. HELP!

iMac 27″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Aug 12, 2022 1:52 PM

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Answer 1

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dialabrain

Level 10

124,649 points

Aug 12, 2022 2:01 PM in response to kayblackburn72

Maybe re-read the requirements…

Use your iMac as a display with target display mode - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Aug 12, 2022 2:11 PM in response to dialabrain

Ok I re-read, and I guess my issue is with my MacBook Pro which has Big Sur (The other Mac that you're connecting it to must have been introduced in 2019 or earlier and have macOS Catalina or earlier installed). Does this mean that there is no way to make this work? I appreciate your help.

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Answer 3

Aug 12, 2022 2:20 PM in response to dialabrain

Bummer, I just spent almost $80 for the thunderbolt cable and adaptor! Well, that's what you get when you don't know what you're doing. thanks so much for your quick response Dialabrain! I have been really frustrated trying to figure this out!

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Answer 4

dialabrain

Level 10

124,649 points

Aug 12, 2022 2:14 PM in response to kayblackburn72

That's what it means unless you're willing to downgrade your MacBook Pro to Catalina, which I would never do myself. Actually I would upgrade to Monterey but that's me.

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