The ability to use my Apple Thunderbolt 2 - 27” display with my new M3 MacBook Pro

I have an older Apple 27” Thunderbolt 2 Display from 2014 that comes with an octopus cable with one MagSafe (version 1) male, and one Thunderbolt 2 mini DisplayPort male. Was using this with a late 2013 Intel MacBook Pro which required a MagSafe 1 to MagSafe 2 converter to work with the connector for the Thunderbolt Display. When my MacBook was connected to the external display, it remained charged regularly while connected to this setup.


Fast forward to 2024 it was time for me to upgrade my computer and I just recently opted in for a new 16in M3 MacBook Pro M3 Pro with slightly upgraded memory and SSD. The new MacBook has a new MagSafe 3 power connector. I’ve been looking at various dongles and adapters that could possibly do the job and I’ve looked at various options, but I’m still stuck having more questions. For example, however I decide to run this setup, I want to also be able to take advantage of the additional ports that are on the back of my Thunderbolt Display such as the Thunderbolt 2 port and the USB-A (2.0) ports. Since the new MacBooks have different power requirements, will the Thunderbolt Display provide enough power to be able to charge the new M3 MacBook Pro effectively? Based on what I have read, the 16in M3 MacBook Pro fast charges at 140w through the MagSafe 3 connector, and is also capable of charging at 100w through any of the new USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports on the machine. If I were to rely on the Thunderbolt Display supplied MagSafe connector to power my MacBook through one of it’s USB-C ports (obviously we would need an adapter for that) would it be able to supply 85 / 96 or 100w of power to effectively supply the MacBook with power?


I know that Apple makes Thunderbolt 2 mini DisplayPort female to Thunderbolt 3 USB-C male adapter which costs about $50 and this seemed like a viable option.


I also saw some MagSafe (v1) to USB-C adapters which would be an option for powering / charging the MacBook, provided the Thunderbolt Display has something around 100w of output to charge the new MacBook effectively (haven’t been able to find any information on this).


Another option would be to just not use the MagSafe power from the octopus cable on the Thunderbolt Display and just get a separate 100w GaN charging power brick from Anker or Ugreen and use that to charge the new MacBook Pro.


Ideally I would like to occupy the least amount of built in USB-C Ports on my MacBook as possible and if there was one dongle / adapter / converter out there that could handle all of these tasks including charging my device, ability to use the ports on the back of my Apple Thunderbolt Display at their max capacity (specifically the Thunderbolt 2 port) and carry the display signal for my screen from the MacBook Pro onto the Thunderbolt Display, that would be ideal. I am also running a secondary screen through HDMI as a part of a dual monitor setup. I know the MacBook has a dedicated HDMI port which I could use for that, but if the this imaginary adapter that I’m looking for has an HDMI port as well and I can just run everything off one of the USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports on the MacBook, that would be my ideal setup. I’m not even sure if this last one is possible since I don’t know if both displays would be able to run, along with power and data transfer off a single port.


I would appreciate any kind of feedback, or of anyone is aware of such an adapter / converter that could do it all, or if you have any suggestions on how you enabled your similar setup, I would love to hear how you did it and why you chose that method.


Thank you.

Posted on Apr 20, 2024 6:13 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 20, 2024 8:06 PM

for the data portion, the Apple Thunderbolt-3 <-> Thunderbolt-2 adapter, US$50, can work with the genuine Thunderbolt Display. (the display model that is often mistaken for the Thunderbolt Display has extra Firewire and USB inputs in the octopus connector, and is not supported in this fashion.


There may be some aftermarket adapters to USB-C charging, but I suggest you just use the standard Power adapter for the MacBook Pro and its MagSafe-3 connection.


For HDMI display, use the dedicated HDMI port, and a certified ULTRA quality cable.



Similar questions

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 20, 2024 8:06 PM in response to vuzee

for the data portion, the Apple Thunderbolt-3 <-> Thunderbolt-2 adapter, US$50, can work with the genuine Thunderbolt Display. (the display model that is often mistaken for the Thunderbolt Display has extra Firewire and USB inputs in the octopus connector, and is not supported in this fashion.


There may be some aftermarket adapters to USB-C charging, but I suggest you just use the standard Power adapter for the MacBook Pro and its MagSafe-3 connection.


For HDMI display, use the dedicated HDMI port, and a certified ULTRA quality cable.



This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

The ability to use my Apple Thunderbolt 2 - 27” display with my new M3 MacBook Pro

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.