Im new to the thunderbolt and USB-C stuff. My understanding is while they are the same there are some small differences in power and speed. I received my Mac mini today and while watching videos on the Mac mini wanted to take notes on the iPad Pro. It came with a USB-C charging cable. I plugged it into both ports to find it would not charge and also was not recognizing the iPad in iTunes. Luckily I had an Anker Poweline+ C 6ft cable that does work. Do I need a dedicated Thunderbolt cable or is it more of a port issue?
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Mac mini thunderbolt issue?
- Thread starter chukwithak
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I don't know what the issue is here, but Apple's own .8m cable is $39. I think that you are talking about long, active cables, which is a different matter.
USB-c and Thunderbolt3 are not the same and are in fact very different in both speed and power delivery. The iPad does not support TB3 and is USB-C only. To connect them you need a USB-C cable. TB3 shares the same connector, but for example you cannot connect a TB3 device with most USB-C cables, but most passive TB3 cables can do either. Active cables are TB3 only and cannot connect USB-C devices.
Most folks may never have a need for TB3, but if you do need it, it is an amazing interface. I connect two docks, multiple monitors, a raid array, and many USB devices via TB3 on my iMac Pro, and almost as many devices on my MBP.
Most folks may never have a need for TB3, but if you do need it, it is an amazing interface. I connect two docks, multiple monitors, a raid array, and many USB devices via TB3 on my iMac Pro, and almost as many devices on my MBP.
The iPad Pro is not a Thunderbolt device. There is no need to use a Thunderbolt cable.
Do you have a source for this information? I didn't realise this!
Regarding the OP. This sounds like a problem with the cable or ports. There should be no reason why a USB-C cable doesn't work for a new iPad Pro.
Here is one, but there are many others:
https://www.amazon.com/CalDigit-Intel-Certified-Thunderbolt-Cable/dp/B01N4MFG7J
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Apple's current "USB-C Charge Cable" does state that it can be used for "charging, syncing, and transferring data between USB-C devices". I don't believe that was always the case, I seem to recall when I got my first 12" Retina MacBook in 2015 it was a charge-only cable and in order to sync, I needed a different one.
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The Apple USB-C charge cable will transfer data, but only at USB 2.0 speeds. That is documented in the box in the "Charging" section of this article: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208368
The Mini had bad ports. Returned it and went with a MBP instead. I realized once I got him I still need the mobility for education purposes. Mini will be in the house after I'm through school.