User profile for user: biowizard
biowizard Author
User level: Level 1
12 points

iPhone has slow USB-C data transfer with Mac

I finally took the plunge and upgraded to the iPhone 15 Pro Max from my ancient iPhone 7, and was looking forward to the high-speed data transfer that USB-C promised. Using the suppled (Apple) cable, I connected my new iPhone to my MacBook Pro, and started to transfer some large data files (53Gb of Map Data), expecting the info to go across quickly.


Far from it - the transfer took many minutes - so much so, I thought the system had crashed during the transfer of the largest file (over 30Gb in its own right), and pulled the plugs, aborting the transfer, and then started over.


Now I read that the supplied Apple cable only supports 480Mbps data transfers, which is more than 80 times slower than the advertised speed both of the MacBook Pro M1 and iPhone 15 Pro Max, which should be 40Gbps.


What gives? Why does Apple advertise fantastic specs, and then supply a useless cable?|


What do folks here recommend I buy to get decent data transfer speeds?



[Re-Titled by Moderator]


iPhone 15 Pro Max

Posted on Mar 2, 2024 4:55 AM

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User profile for user: Adriankwil
Adriankwil
User level: Level 1
22 points

Posted on Apr 5, 2024 3:13 AM

Unfortunately this is usually standard practice, and its not just apple doing it. Most phones only supply a USB2.0 speed cable in the box. What is an issue however, is the fact that even with a cable capable of 40Gbps, you will only get ~70MBps (~560Mbps) transfer speeds with an M series Mac. There are plenty of reports of this. Interestingly with an older intel mac its possible to get closer to 190MBps transfer speeds. I have tested both of these configs and got those numbers. This is all despite the phone showing up as being connected through a 10Gbps connection in the Mac's System Information panel. I have scoured the internet in search of a solution but have not been able to find one. It seems apple implemented this feature poorly and hoped not many would care or notice. as an aside, transfer speeds are full speed (10Gbps) when connecting the phone directly to a 10Gbps capable SSD with a 10Gbps capable cable.

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User profile for user: Adriankwil
Adriankwil
User level: Level 1
22 points

Apr 5, 2024 3:13 AM in response to biowizard

Unfortunately this is usually standard practice, and its not just apple doing it. Most phones only supply a USB2.0 speed cable in the box. What is an issue however, is the fact that even with a cable capable of 40Gbps, you will only get ~70MBps (~560Mbps) transfer speeds with an M series Mac. There are plenty of reports of this. Interestingly with an older intel mac its possible to get closer to 190MBps transfer speeds. I have tested both of these configs and got those numbers. This is all despite the phone showing up as being connected through a 10Gbps connection in the Mac's System Information panel. I have scoured the internet in search of a solution but have not been able to find one. It seems apple implemented this feature poorly and hoped not many would care or notice. as an aside, transfer speeds are full speed (10Gbps) when connecting the phone directly to a 10Gbps capable SSD with a 10Gbps capable cable.

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iPhone has slow USB-C data transfer with Mac

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