As it doesn't have the TB3 cable permanently attached you should be able to use one of Apple's TB2 to TB3 adapters together with a TB1/2 cable to connect it to an older Mac, assuming that's something you want to do,
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Yup, looking now at Apple's exceedingly expensive adpaters!
Apple‘s bidirectional TB3 adapter and macOS Sierra or later. The dock will give you 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 via its second (downstream) TB3 port and the ability to run two monitors off it (not using the 2011 MBA though — Eagle Ridge rears its head here).
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I today received my new A1016 wireless keyboard. Wanted to verify it works so I started to pair it with my MBP mid 2014, no success. Ok, lets then try iMac 2011, no success there either. Sometimes the enter this 6 number code appears but it immediately goes away with result "wrong code".
After some googling I found this:
Impossible to pair Apple Wireless Keyboard M9270LL/A after update to Monterey 12.0.1
So, the problem is Monterey! My both machines are running Monterey 12.7.6 and this solution worked! Now the kbd is paired with the MBP and works normally. It even appears in the bluetooth list in top menus. I can now connect and disconnect it by clicking its icon normally.
But...it does not appear in the Bluetooth settings or keyboard settings at all. And the downside with this is the fact that I cannot rename the kbd in normal way in the utility. Maybe it can be done on command line?
After some googling I found this:
Impossible to pair Apple Wireless Keyboard M9270LL/A after update to Monterey 12.0.1
So, the problem is Monterey! My both machines are running Monterey 12.7.6 and this solution worked! Now the kbd is paired with the MBP and works normally. It even appears in the bluetooth list in top menus. I can now connect and disconnect it by clicking its icon normally.
But...it does not appear in the Bluetooth settings or keyboard settings at all. And the downside with this is the fact that I cannot rename the kbd in normal way in the utility. Maybe it can be done on command line?
Note that ebay is full of people ripping buyers off with their ridiculous prices on various Apple TB adapters. Apple sells the TB2 to TB3 adapter new at about 55€ incl. shipping in their webstore.Yup, looking now at Apple's exceedingly expensive adpaters!
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Yup, looking now at Apple's exceedingly expensive adpaters!
Even by Apple standards, at one point they were fairly affordable. The level to which the prices have escalated is astounding and as I've posted previously, it's a damn shame that Chinese vendors haven't produced cheaper clones.
Last year, I bought one from eBay for £24 GBP (postage included) - with patience and quick reflexes, it's possible to snag them without breaking the bank. Right now on eBay UK there's a number of (new) TB2-TB3 adapters that are significantly cheaper than the 55€ that Apple are charging.
Yes, when I bought my adapter it was also in region of 20-25€. But, now that I need another I am not finding any significantly cheaper than Apples offering. If one has plenty of time to search for one then sure.Last year, I bought one from eBay for £24 GBP (postage included) - with patience and quick reflexes, it's possible to snag them without breaking the bank. Right now on eBay UK there's a number of (new) TB2-TB3 adapters that are significantly cheaper than the 55€ that Apple are charging.
Ebay UK...well - now I didn't find any that would be much cheaper than Apple store including shipping (and VAT if shipped outside of EU in my case). Note that the cheap ones in China are often only for display connection, they often say they do not support data transfer.
Yes, hence my wish that the vendors would clone them - as they have with the TB1/2 cables.
This is what people need to be careful about. It is marketed as Apple MMEL2ZM/A. It's not Apple product at all, its not TB3 to TB2 adapter. Its kinda TB3 or USB to mDP adapter or something. 🧐
Every time I see a possible lead on new TB1/2 cables on third-party sites, I open the product to read the fine print how, time and again, they’re actually selling is a mini Displayport cable which can *fit* in a TB1/2 port, but cannot transmit TB data, as the cable lacks the TB chips embedded at either end.
It’s exhausting. And it’s vexing.
Go on AliExpress - there's loads available from Chinese sellers and without any of this misleading nonsense. That's where my latest additions were acquired from.
I’ve had one in my shopping cart for a while, but I’m not cosy with dropping $35–40 on a cable which *might* be the real deal and which might not.
So that’ll stay in the shopping cart for the time being as I continue to look locally for someone selling a used Apple TB1/2 cable (as in, also comes with the OEM box), because this is the kind of marketplace which Apple, wilfully, facilitated as they discouraged* and/or prevented third parties from making the TB1/2 cable from the outset of Thunderbolt on Apple products in 2011.
Had they not, then the market would have had TB1/2 cables from all sorts of places and vendors, including the StarTechs** and the like, without anyone needing to second-guess themselves. 🤷♀️
* High royalties were a major contributor of this.
** Yes, apparently StarTech did, for a brief time, offer a TB1/2 cable, but the only cables available for sale from there presently are mini Displayport cables.
One thing:
It never should need to be an easter egg hunt for one to locate a correct cable — or, to shuffle through the merchandising of cables claiming to be one protocol but are actually another cable entirely — especially one with such a high initial price point. (USD$200 for a used Corning optical TB1/2 cable? In this economy?) Moreover, lest one had that slideshow at the ready (and even then, the slideshow was a presentation, not a table list of part numbers), then it wouldn’t be self-evident which vendors, Apple notwithstanding, shipped TB1/2 cables.
But it is. That’s why it’s not a “fix”, per se, how the only practical place to buy a possible, new TB1/2 cable now is on a web store rife with counterfeit, bait-and-switch, and/or substandard products. [Also, this is part of why I opened a thread for us to share those Aliexpress finds which do turn out to be the real deal and a bona fide good deal. I don’t expect any actual TB1/2 cable which does get sold there will find its way onto that thread, but it’d be delightful to discover otherwise.]
I went to look. You had, and I either forgot or, more than likely, I got preoccupied by how you managed to have an inline preview of the link when I had been unable to do the same.
Still, CAD$42 for a 2m new cable (I’ve trust issues with buying used at that price, given the cable’s complexity and relative fragility) is a gamble without knowing the vendor’s origin. As a second TB cable, however, then sure, picking up a used one would be a risk worth taking. (Yes, I’ve not yet owned a TB1/2 cable, but I have been looking as I’ve been looking to add a standalone display in the not-too-distant future.)
You would probably save money if you sold that one and bought a TB2 dock with psu. No need to buy the adapter(s? ) or correct psu either.
I've just bought a Belkin TB 2 dock for peanuts. Hoping for a free upgrade to 1st class as well. This didn't come with a power adapter either - seems to be a thing on eBay UK.
The PSU for mine died on me after a while but it was a cinch to replace it by just searching on Amazon using the wattage, amperage and polarity info. Doing that saved me the predictably inflated cost of buying an official replacement.
I can see plenty with the correct vital statistics. Problem is that they are all a bit no-name and potentially incendiary devices. £16 will get me the missing Belkin psu. I do have some multi-adapter laptop psus I can use. Not sure if the wattage will go to to the requisite 6W but I can't see myself needing that much for this.
I tried the 90W Kensington laptop with a J tip and all seems well, so unless I see a need for a lot more power, that'll do, pig, that'll do.The PSU for mine died on me after a while but it was a cinch to replace it by just searching on Amazon using the wattage, amperage and polarity info. Doing that saved me the predictably inflated cost of buying an official replacement.
Belkin 1&2 Express Dock PSU is only 72W (12V 6.0A).
The 170W TB 3 Dock Pro PSU is capable includes 85W for charging a modern MacBook. So, 90W should be just fine for normal use. BTW. what voltage does this dock use?