2014 Mac Mini-how to make it work with USB-C?

[iHavequestions]

The back of a 2014 Mac Mini has no connection for USB-C to plug in. I have a work setup that has USB-C Male cable that comes out of a hub that is connected to monitors and other peripherals such as keyboard and mouse. With a MBP that has USB ports, that works perfect but I can't seem to find an adapter to make it work to the Mac Mini. Which exact adapter would I need? If anyone has a link to an Amazon page, that would be great because I can't seem to find any of the combos from the list below to match to the USB-C wire.

This is what is on the back of the Mac Mini:

• Two Thunderbolt 2 ports (up to 20 Gbps)
• Four USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps)
• HDMI port

 

[Fishrrman]

Looks like this will work:

yootech [5inch] USB C 3.1 to USB Adapter (2 Pack) 5Gbps Type C Female to USB Male Adapter,USBC Charger Cable Connector for iPhone 14 Plus 14 13 12 Mini Pro Max,Samsung Galaxy S22, i-Watch Series 8 7

yootech [5inch] USB C 3.1 to USB Adapter (2 Pack) 5Gbps Type C Female to USB Male Adapter,USBC Charger Cable Connector for iPhone 14 Plus 14 13 12 Mini Pro Max,Samsung Galaxy S22, i-Watch Series 8 7

www.amazon.com

HOWEVER...
USBc has a higher bandwidth than USB3.
I'm wondering if the HDMI port will work at all.
You'll have to try it and see.

 

[iHavequestions]

The back of a 2014 Mac Mini has no connection for USB-C to plug in. I have a work setup that has USB-C Male cable that comes out of a hub that is connected to monitors and other peripherals such as keyboard and mouse. With a MBP that has USB ports, that works perfect but I can't seem to find an adapter to make it work to the Mac Mini. Which exact adapter would I need? If anyone has a link to an Amazon page, that would be great because I can't seem to find any of the combos from the list below to match to the USB-C wire.

This is what is on the back of the Mac Mini:

• Two Thunderbolt 2 ports (up to 20 Gbps)
• Four USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps)
• HDMI port

Looks like this will work:

yootech [5inch] USB C 3.1 to USB Adapter (2 Pack) 5Gbps Type C Female to USB Male Adapter,USBC Charger Cable Connector for iPhone 14 Plus 14 13 12 Mini Pro Max,Samsung Galaxy S22, i-Watch Series 8 7

yootech [5inch] USB C 3.1 to USB Adapter (2 Pack) 5Gbps Type C Female to USB Male Adapter,USBC Charger Cable Connector for iPhone 14 Plus 14 13 12 Mini Pro Max,Samsung Galaxy S22, i-Watch Series 8 7

www.amazon.com

HOWEVER...
USBc has a higher bandwidth than USB3.
I'm wondering if the HDMI port will work at all.
You'll have to try it and see.

I found a similar adapter at work. I plugged it in and nothing happens. Is there any steps I need to take once I plug it in?

 

[Monotremata]

USBc has a higher bandwidth than USB3.

USB-C is JUST a connector. It can be USB 1, 2, 3.1 Gen 1 or 3.1 Gen 2, or Thunderbolt 3/4. We get calls from people buying the wrong cables for their monitors all the time at work because they don't pay attention and read the details on what they're buying. Everybody seems to think USB-C=USB 3.1 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt by default but this is NOT the case.

Your MBP probably has Thunderbolt 3 ports which is why it works. To use it on your Mini, you need to use a Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter, then you plug the hub into there.

 

[iHavequestions]

USB-C is JUST a connector. It can be USB 1, 2, 3.1 Gen 1 or 3.1 Gen 2, or Thunderbolt 3/4. We get calls from people buying the wrong cables for their monitors all the time at work because they don't pay attention and read the details on what they're buying. Everybody seems to think USB-C=USB 3.1 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt by default but this is NOT the case.

Your MBP probably has Thunderbolt 3 ports which is why it works. To use it on your Mini, you need to use a Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter, then you plug the hub into there.

But my picture is showing an adapter that is USB 3 not working.

 

[Monotremata]

But my picture is showing an adapter that is USB 3 not working.

And you didn't pay attention to the part where I mentioned there are multiple types of USB 3.

Your Mac does not have the ability to do video over USB period. Regardless of what adapter you have, your computer has USB 3.1 Gen 1, or as it was called in 2014, USB 3.0. It does not support DisplayPort over USB no matter what adapter you try to use. The only way that is going to work is to use a Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter and then you can plug in your USB-C cable into that and get video over it.

 

[iHavequestions]

And you didn't pay attention to the part where I mentioned there are multiple types of USB 3.

Your Mac does not have the ability to do video over USB period. Regardless of what adapter you have, your computer has USB 3.1 Gen 1, or as it was called in 2014, USB 3.0. It does not support DisplayPort over USB no matter what adapter you try to use. The only way that is going to work is to use a Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter and then you can plug in your USB-C cable into that and get video over it.

Got it now. Thanks. Got a link to any place where I can buy one that works?

 

[Monotremata]

Sure. https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEL2AM/A/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter

EDIT: Maybe someone with one of these can chime in, Apple's page says these dont support DisplayPort??? WTF??

 

[MikeDr206]

You’ll be able to use any type of USB C to USB A cable to connect input devices like mice and keyboards, and external hard drives and SSDs to your Mac Mini. The storage devices will run at a lower speed.

however, I don’t think it’s possible to hook up a USB C display.

 

[MikeDr206]

Sure. https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEL2AM/A/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter

EDIT: Maybe someone with one of these can chime in, Apple's page says these dont support DisplayPort??? WTF??

This is a different use case than what the OP is doing. It’s for connecting a Mac with TB3 to an existing TB2 peripheral, such as a hard drive, hub, etc.

it doesn’t support DisplayPort in that the TB2 connector is just that— a tb2 connector and not an MDP connector. You could hook up to an old TB2 dock that exposes a DisplayPort, tho.

 

[jaytv111]

I think it might work through type-A (using adapter), but with Windows PCs only, maybe only HP laptops to boot. Some of HP's docks don't list MacOS compatibility. I think this might be one of those docks that use Displaylink and DP-alt mode, and what that means is if the host supports USB-C and DP-alt, it should work fine, but if you're using USB-A, you need to support Displaylink drivers and such, and if HP doesn't give out drivers on MacOS then it won't work (the dock also needs to be told to switch between protocols so I assume it needs a driver to do this).

There's no way to get it to work through Thunderbolt, however, because the dock is not Thunderbolt itself so it has no ability to hook up to the Mac (TB3 computers can hook up to the dock by switching to USB mode, but TB2 does not do this, TB2 only switches between Thunderbolt protocol and Displayport protocol).

 

[chrfr]

Sure. https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEL2AM/A/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter

EDIT: Maybe someone with one of these can chime in, Apple's page says these dont support DisplayPort??? WTF??

That is correct. It's just a Thunderbolt adapter; you cannot output video using those adapters, except in the case of connecting a true Thunderbolt display, like the old Apple Thunderbolt Display. For someone with a 2014 mini who wants Displayport output, they should just use a mini Displayport to Displayport adapter or cable in one of the built in Thunderbolt ports.