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Is the LG UltraFine 4K Display compatible with the Early 2015 MacBook Pro 13"?

F

Falcon9

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 17, 2015
152
94
Eastern Canada
Just wondering as I am potentially interested in purchasing one:

Is the LG UltraFine 4K Display compatible with the Early 2015 MacBook Pro 13"?

Obviously I would need an adapter. Does a) such an adapter exist (would Apple's TB3 to TB2 adapter work?) and b) would the MacBook Pro be able to power the 4k display at full resolution via thunderbolt?

Thanks.
 
maximlos said:
I can link the lg ultrafine 4k with my macbook with

USC C / Thunderbolt 2 adapter
Thunderbolt cable

example setup: http://imgur.com/a/5Tntz

will it work?
Click to expand...
Nope as this is a USB-only display. The Thunderbolt version is the 5K one but that one only works with TB3. TB1 and 2 do not have enough DisplayPort streams to drive the 5K display.

There is no other option in this case because it requires something to turn USB-C into USB + DisplayPort. Currently there is no such thing.

If you want something to work with your MBP then get the older Apple Thunderbolt Display, a Thunderbolt 1 or 2 display or just an ordinary one. The latter is your best bet. If you also want to connect other stuff then you want to look into Thunderbolt docks (not the USB ones, they are buggy).
 
littlepud said:
This will not work. All "USB-C to whatever" adapters are ONE-WAY. They will allow a USB-C computer to talk to a "whatever" peripheral. They are NOT reversible and cannot be used to connect a "whatever" (ex: Thunderbolt 2, DisplayPort, etc.) computer to a USB-C peripheral.
Click to expand...

Actually you're wrong there. From the Apple product page: "As a bidirectional adapter, it can also connect new Thunderbolt 3 devices to a Mac with a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 port."
 
swrobel said:
Actually you're wrong there. From the Apple product page: "As a bidirectional adapter, it can also connect new Thunderbolt 3 devices to a Mac with a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 port."
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. Thunderbolt is special as it is essentially external PCI-E, so that one makes sense as being reversible. Any "pure" USB to USB adapter should also be reversible as well.

However, any of the USB-C (not TB3) to non-USB adapters should not be reversible, such as USB-C to Mini DisplayPort.
 
USB-C is no more than a connector and a cable. You can use it with whatever you want. The protocol used is the only that is actually important here. Both USB and Thunderbolt are backward compatible with older versions but not with each other. The only exception would be Thunderbolt 3 as this supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 (and lower versions).

As the product page mentions, you should be able to connect old Thunderbolt 1/2 devices to your new Thunderbolt 3 machine or Thunderbolt 3 devices to your Mac with Thunderbolt 1 or 2 port. If that doesn't work then the adapter could be faulty or the device you want to connect may not work nicely with it.

Oh and btw, this adapter really only supports Thunderbolt devices. That means that while your display may come with a mini-DisplayPort or DisplayPort connector it will NOT work with this adapter as mini-DisplayPort and DisplayPort are not Thunderbolt.
 
Need to bump this. This doesn't seem to have been resolved. Myself have a early 2015 MacBook Pro and was disappointed to go to my local Apple store and them not know either and not have any on display to test. Can someone that has actually tried connecting an early 2015 MacBook Pro comment on if it worked or not and if it did work were all features okay or was there something that wasn't functioning correctly. Thank you.
 
0029937 said:
Need to bump this. This doesn't seem to have been resolved. Myself have a early 2015 MacBook Pro and was disappointed to go to my local Apple store and them not know either and not have any on display to test. Can someone that has actually tried connecting an early 2015 MacBook Pro comment on if it worked or not and if it did work were all features okay or was there something that wasn't functioning correctly. Thank you.
Click to expand...

just buy a 2016 and then you won't have to worry about it!

just kidding, I would be curious to find out too fi it works, what adapter would one use'?
 
0029937 said:
Need to bump this. This doesn't seem to have been resolved. Myself have a early 2015 MacBook Pro and was disappointed to go to my local Apple store and them not know either and not have any on display to test. Can someone that has actually tried connecting an early 2015 MacBook Pro comment on if it worked or not and if it did work were all features okay or was there something that wasn't functioning correctly. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Tried, no go. I used the Apple thunderbolt adapter with my late 2013 15" MBP. Was going to get on of those USB-C display port adapters, but like you, I want answers, as I don't feel like throwing away $20US.

BTW, to be clear, it's the USB-C LG 4k that Apple sells. Nice monitor, actually. I have the new MBP so I use that. Wanted to connect it to a Mac Mini.
 
Anybody? I think the sale ends end of Dec.

As is the case in every other conversation I've ran into on the net, no one can definitively describe the experience between the new monitor and the 2015 MacBook Pro. Frustrating. May have to bite the bullet and buy and test myself. Just wanted to avoid the situation where it gets returned on day 1.
 
Last edited:
You'd need a mini-DisplayPort to USB-C (DP Alt Mode) cable, and as far as I know such a thing doesn't exist.
 
Macalway said:
Tried, no go. I used the Apple thunderbolt adapter with my late 2013 15" MBP. Was going to get on of those USB-C display port adapters, but like you, I want answers, as I don't feel like throwing away $20US.

BTW, to be clear, it's the USB-C LG 4k that Apple sells. Nice monitor, actually. I have the new MBP so I use that. Wanted to connect it to a Mac Mini.
Click to expand...
will a Type-C to Mini DisplayPort Active Cable work? Has anyone solved this yet?
https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Ty...46998&sr=8-6&keywords=active+usb+c+to+mini+dp
[doublepost=1532547404][/doublepost]
Macalway said:
Tried, no go. I used the Apple thunderbolt adapter with my late 2013 15" MBP. Was going to get on of those USB-C display port adapters, but like you, I want answers, as I don't feel like throwing away $20US.

BTW, to be clear, it's the USB-C LG 4k that Apple sells. Nice monitor, actually. I have the new MBP so I use that. Wanted to connect it to a Mac Mini.
Click to expand...
will a Type-C to Mini DisplayPort Active Cable work? Has anyone solved this yet?
https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Ty...46998&sr=8-6&keywords=active+usb+c+to+mini+dp
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
JTToft said:
- I'd say no, as that cable is USB-C to DisplayPort, not DisplayPort to USB-C.
Click to expand...

Yes, I just saw this question. My experience with this was so long ago I could not remember the details, but this is what I found.( I couldn't find a solution), although that was a while ago. Unfortunate. Works great with my MBP though.
 
Last edited:
JTToft said:
- I'd say no, as that cable is USB-C to DisplayPort, not DisplayPort to USB-C.
Click to expand...
thank you for replying. But i found this, and I quote "Just plug the reversible USB-C connector into your computer's video output and connect to your Mini DisplayPort display." on the cable's amazon page. Does "reversible" here means that it would work both way?
 
steveniupui said:
thank you for replying. But i found this, and I quote "Just plug the reversible USB-C connector into your computer's video output and connect to your Mini DisplayPort display." on the cable's amazon page. Does "reversible" here means that it would work both way?
Click to expand...
- No. "Reversible" refers to the USB-C connector itself. It doesn't have a particular orientation like a regular USB-A connector, so it can be plugged into its socket no matter which side is up - the same way Lightning on your iPhone can.
 
Falcon9 said:
Just wondering as I am potentially interested in purchasing one:

Is the LG UltraFine 4K Display compatible with the Early 2015 MacBook Pro 13"?

Obviously I would need an adapter. Does a) such an adapter exist (would Apple's TB3 to TB2 adapter work?) and b) would the MacBook Pro be able to power the 4k display at full resolution via thunderbolt?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

ok, I am in exactly same situation: macbookpro 13" early 2015 with thunderbolt2 ports only.
and I bought LG ultrafine 4K 2019 version from apple store

by using this adapter https://www.apple.com/ca_edu_93120/...olt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter?fnode=8b

they are connected and working fine.
this is confirmed now
 
iKel said:
ok, I am in exactly same situation: macbookpro 13" early 2015 with thunderbolt2 ports only.
and I bought LG ultrafine 4K 2019 version from apple store

by using this adapter https://www.apple.com/ca_edu_93120/...olt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter?fnode=8b

they are connected and working fine.
this is confirmed now
Click to expand...

I have 2015 Macbook Air Early 2015 that has Thunderbolt 2 port, I have Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter and the cable - Please see this
https://imgur.com/a/5Tntz
. I have LG 21.5-inch LG UltraFine 4K Display monitor. The setup is still not working. Could you please advise?
 
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