Connecting Macbook Pro (late 2013) to LG Ultrafine 4k monitor with Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter

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Connecting Macbook Pro (late 2013) to LG Ultrafine 4k monitor with Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter

HI, the apple forum says I can connect a Macbook Pro (late 2013) to LG Ultrafine 4k monitor with the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter but I am getting a blank screen. I have tried the monitor on other machines and it does work. I am running High Sierra 10.13.6.

I have tried this on a 2017 macbook air too and it doesn't work either.

Thanks, Cali

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.13

Posted on Jun 30, 2019 2:54 AM

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Answer 1

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BDAqua

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Jun 30, 2019 8:54 AM in response to calidewberry

Video

Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2

Use the Thunderbolt port of this adapter to connect your Mac to a display that uses a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 cable. For example, you can use this adapter to connect your Mac to an Apple Thunderbolt Display or LG Thunderbolt 2 display.

This adapter is not compatible with displays that use DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort, such as the Apple LED Cinema Display. Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 are not the same as Mini DisplayPort , though the ports have the same shape.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207266

Yeah, supposed to work...

https://support.apple.com/en-al/HT210105

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Answer 2

calidewberry Author

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Jun 30, 2019 6:56 PM in response to BobHarris

Thanks, but I am confused - the specs for my mac are described as 2 thunderbolt ports and also mini display port:

Thunderbolt digital video outputNative Mini DisplayPort output
Two Thunderbolt 2 ports (up to 20 Gbps)

However, I can only see the 2 thunderbolts) on my mac and on the image on this link - no mini display port: https://support.apple.com/kb/SP691?locale=en_US

And according to apple, this is supposed to work.

https://support.apple.com/en-al/HT210105

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Answer 3

BDAqua

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Jul 1, 2019 6:03 AM in response to calidewberry

Ouch, sorry to hear that... I wonder if it worked once & was the Firmware update that affected other TB functions?

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250443450?answerId=250869296022#250869296022

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Answer 4

BobHarris

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55,055 points

Jun 30, 2019 3:53 PM in response to calidewberry

Are you trying to drive the LG via a miniDisplayPort cable? Of so, then I'm not sure a Thunderbolt-3 to Thunderbolt-2 adapter includes DisplayPort protocols.

If I'm guessing right, then you may want to get either a USB-C to DisplayPort or (miniDisplay Port) cable. Or get a USB-C dock that have video ports supported by your LG.

Case in point, in another thread, someone had a miniDisplay Port cable, and got a USB-C to Thunderbolt-2 adapter and their cable would not work. They got a USB-C to miniDisplay Port cable, and it worked perfectly. I then went out and got the same cable and it worked for me as well.

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Answer 5

BDAqua

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Jun 30, 2019 7:34 PM in response to calidewberry

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207443

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Answer 6

calidewberry Author

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Jun 30, 2019 10:07 PM in response to BDAqua

I called the Apple i store and according to them this LG Utrafine 4k montior only works with later macs that support Thunderbolt 3. Not sure why the actual apple website would mislead the public

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Connecting Macbook Pro (late 2013) to LG Ultrafine 4k monitor with Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter

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