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Connecting my iMac to my MacBook

It is possible to use a USB to HDMI cable to connect the iMac monitor to my MacBook Air or do I have to use a thunderbolt to HDMI?


thank you.


MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.15

Posted on May 17, 2020 8:04 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 17, 2020 9:16 AM

Only certain year model iMac's work as displays in Target Display Mode.

To see if your iMac supports Target Display Mode and the connection to use,

have a look at > Use your iMac as a display - Apple Support

and > Use your iMac as a display with target display mode - Apple Support

9 replies

May 17, 2020 10:46 AM in response to rlvarady

Then you likely have the wrong cable combination or the wrong Mac OS combination. What you can do is to disconnect the 2 reset the NVRAM on each Mac and then retry. If you still don't have any luck then verify you have the correct cabling and OS combo.


Personally I'd suggest just getting an external display for your MBP, less problematic. iMacs are computers, they are not really intended to be an external display for another computer. iMHO, trying to do so is a hit or miss proposition and not really worth spending the time on.

Connecting my iMac to my MacBook

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