How to connect two MacBooks Pro via thunderbolt

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Level 1

24 points

How to connect two MacBooks Pro via thunderbolt

I have two MacBooks Pro, 2017 model, 15''. I have bought an Apple charging cable and connected the two computers. I have checked System Preferences -> Network -> Thunderbolt Bridge but it is inactive. When clicking on Advanced I can see:

Thunderbolt 1 Inactive

Thunderbolt 13 Inactive

Thunderbolt 14 Inactive

I have tried to boot one of the in target mode, so I pressed T when booting but all I could see was the Thunderbolt logo on the screen and the computer did not started.

Does anyone have a step by step list of what should I do to connect the two computers via IP addresses?

MacBook Pro TouchBar and Touch ID, iOS 10.3.3

Posted on Sep 13, 2017 12:55 PM

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Answer 1

JimmyCMPIT

Level 7

29,306 points

Sep 13, 2017 1:01 PM in response to Codrutz

Target mode is not dependent on IP address or weather or not the TB is an active network protocol in the network preference

To use Target Mode:

Shut down. Connect the cable to the two macs, boot one of the devices into target mode, boot the other normally. The target mode devices HDD/SSD will appear on the other systems desktop.

Use target disk mode to share files between two Mac computers - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Codrutz Author

Level 1

24 points

Sep 13, 2017 1:02 PM in response to JimmyCMPIT

It seems to me this article is only about "target disk mode, one Mac appears as an external disk on the other Mac, allowing you to browse and copy files". I want to allow the two computers to communicate via cable, the same way two computers can communicate via the old Ethernet cable. Is this possible?

of course, I can use wireless, but thunderbolt cable should be faster...

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