Seriously! Which cable should I choose to do data transfer between a 12" MB and a 2017 MBP via target disk mode by migration assistant?

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Seriously! Which cable should I choose to do data transfer between a 12" MB and a 2017 MBP via target disk mode by migration assistant?

A quick image showing my cables and MacBooks situation: https://imgur.com/a/APltt

The title says it all. I got a new MacBook Pro 13inch with touch bar(A1706) and now I need to transfer all my data from my old 12" MacBook(A1534) to it. While migration assistant always generates errors over wifi, I see target disk mode could do the work.

From this official article by Apple(https://support.apple.com/en-hk/HT201462) it says

"Target disk mode on MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports

You can use target disk mode to transfer data between MacBook Pro models with Thunderbolt 3 and other Mac computers.

To use target disk mode between a MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3 and another Mac notebook's USB-C port, connect the two computers with a USB-C cable such as the Belkin 3.1 USB-C to USB-C Cable."

So I got this belkin 3.1 cable(https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-USB-IF-Certified-USB-C-Cable/dp/B00WJSPCSG?th=1&ps c=1). But when I restart the 12" MB into target disk mode and connect it to my 13" MBP when migration assistant is searching for the source, nothing happens.

Before this I actually accidentally got a Thunderbolt 3 cable to try, and nothing happened either.

So even the official post is not telling the right thing?? Or where did I got it wrong? Which cable should I get to complete the job? I'm so confused right now...

Thanks guys!

MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016), macOS High Sierra (10.13.1), And a 2017 13" MBP with touchbar

Posted on Nov 28, 2017 4:22 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Nov 28, 2017 5:39 AM in response to chenhang91

Hi,

Connect them before opening MA, and make sure you're following everything else in order:

Connect both computers to AC power.

Connect the computers to each other

If both computers are using macOS Sierra or later, just make sure that they're near each other and have Wi-Fi turned on. If either is using OS X El Capitan or earlier, connect them to the same same network using Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
Or connect them using target disk mode and the appropriate cable or adapter. Then start up up your old computer in target disk mode.
Or connect your new Mac to a Time Machine backup of your old Mac.

Use Migration Assistant

On your new Mac:

Open Migration Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
Click Continue.
When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer from a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk.
Click Continue.

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