Thank you for the video - as I have few Thunderbolt displays in hands. I have tried to use the MagSafe for older MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. I have grown to DISLIKE the power cable portion - it created the tension on the most precious Thunderbolt 2 connector, which I saw on many Thunderbolt Display. I have disconnected the Octopus cable's internal power connector, then cut off the external power cable. However, aesthetically, it looked ugly with the TB2-> TB3 adapter, plus the thickness of the the remaining cable. I really like your method of hiding the adapter internally and only has TB3 cable coming out. During my modification, I cut the 0.5m TB2 cable's plastic cover and it shows the "connector" exactly the length and style like the OEM's Octopus internal TB2 connector! So, I can use the connector's cover, without needing the glue! I also save Octopus cable's the white center "button" for the TB3 cable to pass through (again, with cutting and gluing) - now it feels like the TB3 cable was part of the TB Display... It suits perfectly for my M1/M2 Mac Minis. Thanks again for inspiring me to make this modification!
Nicely done! I just replaced mine and reeeally wanted to cut into the plastic cover on the end of the thunderbolt cable to see if it was long enough to fit. I was too scared since it was the only one I had on hand. I installed it without glue or anything but this is amazing. I will go back and install it "properly" once i get another cable on hand.
@@TheGrizzlyKnight It IS long enough, and fits perfectly! I've got video of the mod, I just need to edit and post it. I used a small cuttoff wheel to make two lengthwise cuts down the white plastic shell and popped it off. It appears to be the exact same connector as the one you find inside the display.
Colin... Thank You! A) I have 2 Thunderbolt Displays in front of me right now. (and 1 in storage with a bad tb cable!) B) I loved these things when I walked out of the Apple Store a decade ago with the 2 giant suitcases they come in. Specifically for the use case that you are resurrecting: a single ultra-clean umbilical cable across my desk to my MacBook Pro. The monitor itself was a dock with all of my peripherals attached. The minimalism was unprecedented, and you've made a way to bring that forward to 2023. So thank you. C) This opens up a Bunch of other options as well for other use cases that fellow owners may have, such as: 1- Just unplug both the TB and the Power, remove the umbilical, and that's it.....get rid of that annoying ass cable that I loved in the beginning but has been driving me crazy ever since. First of all you don't actually need it because you can send TB into the other port on the back of the monitor anyways. Unless you actually need to daisy-chain thunderbolt, which I do, so... 2- Remove the umbilical, leave the power disconnected, and Just add a new TB2 cable At Whatever Length You Actually Need!!! If you're not using a MagSafe laptop, that thing is just dangling around (with gaff tape on mine) not connected anyways, and I'm guessing not using the MagSafe power will extend the life of your display's power supply as well. Plus that cable was Always too short if you were say hooking these Thousand Dollar monitors to anything Other than a laptop on your desk. Say a Mac Pro tower....loaded with hard disks...and all the fans and heat, at my feet! (Where were you 10 years ago Colin!) 3- I'm guessing that Most people would benefit most from rather than doing that impressive power PD supply hack on the inside of the display, or even putting the TB3 to TB2 adapter on the inside, simply follow your umbilical removal technique, drop the power all together and replace with a New TB2 (at chosen length), which looks like it'll hot-glue down even cleaner. Then use that TB3 to TB2 adapter at the End of the new TB2 cable going into your TB3/4 Dock of choice, which can solve many other issues. You can Hide it and everything else you need plugged into it, and maybe bypass the dock built into the TB Display. And you can Hide it. So on the clean theme, while this display impressively minimized down to one cable and two connections, these new docks can supply TB Data, Displayport Video, and 100+ Watts Power all down a Single TB3/4 cable. Can't get any more minimal than One! (well wireless is coming...) 4- (Disclaimer: I read through the comments so I know you already addressed what other pointed out, and I agree with you on the price and length of these apple cables, but for anyone else...) If money was no object and you wanted the cleanest "Apple did it in 2023" upgrade, then you follow the video and remove the old umbilical, then install Colin's PD USB-C power mod ($?), then install the Apple TB3-TB2 adapter ($50) as described, and then... you install the 2-meter, midnight color, Apple USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable ($50) and a 1.8-meter Apple Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable in black ($130). Add some snakeskin cable wrap and some heat-shrink tubing and for a couple hundred bucks you have a new Apple Umbilical that does exactly what the old one did. (Now while that MagSafe cable is 50 bucks and I don't know an alternative, I'm sure you can find a matching aftermarket TB3 cable for Much Less than the Apple Pro one. And you could get both in silver closer to the OG theme. But whether you Spend less than a hundred or close too three, that money doesn't buy you extra functions, where just buying a TB2 cable and investing the rest in a TB3/4 Dock actually results in a cleaner setup, better Power Delivery, and additional functionality, while retaining All the original functionality.) 5- I'll be cracking mine open soon. But since you've shown us mere mortals the way, I wonder your thoughts on the other Elephant sized Apple in the room.... getting these Thunderbolt Displays to accept DisplayPort video information! For years I have regretted getting these Apple Thunderbolt Displays because at the time I also had two Apple Cinema Displays that were much less expensive and nearly identical, except... The TBDs had TB2 Docks built in, which as we discussed was amazing, for a while. Using the built in docks meant running all of the cables Up to the Monitor, which as much cable management as I did was always hideous. And I could just get a standalone TB Dock, and Hide it, which ultimately you had to do anyways if you need your computer more than a couple of feet away. Daisy-chaining a dock extends your range, and can tuck the rats-nest away neatly underneath or behind something. The built in was only used for USB sticks, iLok, BT dongles etc. No cables. So then the TBDs advantage went away over the ACDs, and the disadvantages became obnoxious. The identical looking miniDisplayPort connectors on the Cinema Displays could easily be converted to DVI and even HDMI. Not the Thunderbolt Displays. Even though Thunderbolt is just the PCI protocol and DisplayPort protocol on one cable using miniDisplayPort connectors. You can't get to the DisplayPort signal without TB Magic. At least that was the conclusion of many of us in the pissed off owners circle, back then... Do you know of any advancements in the past X years that allow us to use this monitor simply as a Monitor? As I just bought a 55-inch OLED with Dolby Vision for $350 bucks this last Black Friday, my anxiety levels have definitely diminished along with my dreams. But I do like the thought of sleighing this dragon once and for all! But at least you've shown me how to lop off a few of these Hydras' heads, even if I can't ultimately make them bow to my authority!
Glad to be of help! To your last point, you've basically got it right: the Thunderbolt 2 connector is the same as a DisplayPort connector. And the unmodified Thunderbolt Display requires a Thunderbolt port, it will not run off of simple DisplayPort. Meanwhile the TB2 port on a Mac will function as TB2 or DisplayPort automatically. I spent many many hours researching this and finally got to the bottom of how video is unloaded from Thunderbolt. From memory... Thunderbolt is a Ferry. DisplayPort is a car, as are USB, Ethernet, Firewire, Audio, iSight Camera, etc. They can drive on their own, or they can be carried on a Ferry. But a Ferry needs a special terminal, it can't go straight to a driveway! The Thunderbolt Display and your Mac have Intel's Thunderbolt chipset onboard, as do all Thunderbolt devices. This chipset loads 'Cars' on and off of the 'Ferry'. The unloading action on the Thunderbolt Cinema Display breaks out audio/USB/Ethernet 'Cars' to the ports on the back, and sends *one* video 'Car' to the LCD panel. Each Intel chipset is capable of unloading *only a single* video type 'Car'. It cannot break out video to go to the LCD panel and also send video in the DisplayPort format to the port on the back. Remaining 'Cars' still on the 'Ferry' are sent out the back port onward to other Thunderbolt devices. A second, third, or fourth Thunderbolt Cinema Display does the same thing. So to get a DisplayPort signal out of a Thunderbolt signal what you need is a Thunderbolt device with two ports, and no built in video device! That way, the Intel Thunderbolt chipset inside, can unload the video and place it on the output. In my previous setup I used a Belkin TB2 hub to accomplish this. I was able to run a DisplayPort monitor off of the Belkin hub's extra TB2 port. This can be done once, at the end of the daisy chain. My setup was: Macbook Pro 2015 -> TB2/Magsafe umbilical cable -> Thunderbolt Cinema Display -> TB2 cable -> Belkin TB2 Hub -> DisplayPort to DVI adapter cable -> DVI based Dell monitor So I had a TBCD and DP based display both running off of the single TB2 port on my Mac, no extra cables. It was nice for its time!
@@colindgrant Great analogy, I have been tinkering trying to get 2 x TB displays to work on the Mini M1but it its not possible. I suspect apple may have blocked it in the software driver but not 100% sure
@@symosys Each Mac has a given number of displays it can support, based on hardware resources. In the old days you had an individual video card for every display, and while the hardware has changed the resource constraints still exist. So while Thunderbolt may have enough bandwidth for many displays, the Mac still fundamentally has to have enough hardware resources to support each additional screen. My 2021 MBP 16" M1 shown in the video can support the built in screen, and my two external monitors using built in display-dedicated hardware. To drive the third screen I use a DisplayLink adapter, which borrows from the USB-dedicated hardware. You may be able to use DisplayLink to add another display. Good luck!
This is a great setup. I have a thunderbolt display and the new macbook with magsafe 3 and I wanted to use the magsafe 1 from the display. However, after watching this video I have decided it's too much hassle for me. But your tutorial is awesome anyway!
Thanks! You’re right. I’m keeping the USB-C to Magsafe 3 cable that came with the MacBook for travel but it would totally work instead of the USB-C to USB-C cable I used for power.
@@colindgrant you could also utilize the thunderbolt extension chord you bought in combination with a usb-c multi port adapter which allows powerdelivery pass-through. This way you can get both power and data through one usb-c (thunderbolt) cable. At home I just connect one thunderbolt cable to my setup for both charging, display and peripherals.
@@atacant Thanks. I've seen those but not one that supports Thunderbolt. I think "video over USB-C" is a different transport protocol than "video over Thunderbolt", even if Thunderbolt is using a USB-C type connector. The Mac probably supports both, but I'm pretty sure these monitors are specifically looking for "video over Thunderbolt".
Thank you for this video. I did almost the same mod based on the information here. The major difference is that I started with the older led cinema 27" because it is cheaper and can be modded to give charge through a single connector. The only major difference between the two is the webcam. What I did was to replace the webcam with the one from the thunderbolt display. It is a straight swap and cost about €15. I then split the cable into the three separate cables (DP, USB and Magsafe) using a sharp knife. Magsafe I cut and modded the same way as here using a 39k and a 390 ohm resistor in series. The USB cable I replaced entirely with a much shorter one and the DP cable was terminated with a DP to mini DP adapter. All of these parts I then connected to a simple USB-C dock I found for about €15 on aliexpress and extended the cable with a USB-C extension cable. All of this of course with liberal amounts of shrink tube, a couple of zipties and even a ziploch bag to insulate the display cable. And a quick and dirty strain relief. Total cost was about €50 on top of the €200 display and it took me and my friend maybe two hours. It works an absolute treat. The biggest letdown is seriously that I wasn't sble to source a white braided USB-C extension cable.
That is so cool! I'm so glad you shared the details of construction. Do you know how to get more than 15-16V out of the display's power supply? Is that what the 390 Ohm is all about? I didn't know the two models were so similar, that's great. And DisplayPort gives you many more options, like the USB-C dock you mentioned. Ever looked at TB4 docks? They're not cheap, and there aren't many options. Meanwhile video over USB-C (alt mode I think it's called?) is more and more common. I like keeping older tech alive and it sounds like you do too. I'd love to see this project, and I'll bet lots of others too. Ever consider making a video? Let me know if you figured out how to get more voltage from the power supply. I'm curious about using it to power a TB4 hub with PD, in order to get down to a single cable.
@@colindgrant I'm not sure it is actually possible, or at least it not easy, to get more than 16,5V out of it. And even if you did it would be close to 20V and not the 21V requried for the PD adapter to deliver the 20V level of the PD specification. So we are pretty much limited to 45W without some major modifications to the power delivery setup. And I'm fine with that. When I dock my computer it is for hours so 45W will keep the battery topped up just fine. Persumably there could be a scenario with heavy power usage (I do CAD for example) that actually has to dip into the battery reserves to keep running. But I think that is a supported scenario. The 390 Ohm resistor was to make up the 39,41K resistor needed to start the magsafe circuit. The actual value isn't actually that critical. But I had 39K resistors as well as many other values. Bue to tolerances in resistors they could actually be quite a bit off the specified value, especially for my cheap ebay ones from many years ago. So I used 39K as a starting point and experimented with some combination until I got close enough. Yeah, they are pretty much identical apart from the webcam and the IO on the back which on the TB has the firewire, ethernet and thunderbolt daisy chain. And since you can't daisy chain two displays in this scenario those ports probably aren't getting used by most people anyway. The casing is certainly the same and the speakers, power supply and panel are supposedly identical. So the difference is the webcam and the control board. So in this scenario I would say the Cinema Display is the better starting point unless you already own the Thunderbolt Display and the adapter. I did consider a TB dock but they are far larger, harder to install inside the display and also cost something like €300 or more. I can't see any real benefit to that approach over mine. Maybe it would be possible to get some kind of daisy chaining going but that's it. I don't have the time or the skills to make a video out of this. I do have a few bad pictures I took. If you would like to make a short follow-up to this video using those pictures and do some commentary explaining what is going on I'd be very happy to see it out there.
This is cool, there are some small DP adapters out there which have a second port for power, too (elecjet) so both display and power are delivered via one cable. - The regular USB needs to be connected to allow camera + keyboard shortcuts - brightness, volume etc. (even for wireless keyboards which I found odd) From memory the cinema displays and Thunderbolt displays were available at the same time, a lot of refurbers prefer the cinema model claiming they are more reliable. - personally I don’t like the 3 adapters when connecting the conventional way.
I think it would be pretty easy, if not expensive, to just find the smallest thunderbolt hub with power input and take it apart and see if it fits anywhere inside the display. that way you get power and thunderbolt through one cable.
Well, now I'm pursuing this idea :) The challenge is going to be powering the TB4 hub from the display's power supply with sufficient wattage so that the hub can power the laptop via PD.
@@OleksandrPakhalchuk Still working on it. I am using an Anker TB4 hub, but it looks like it will need more input power than the TB Display's magsafe power supply can provide.
Hi, I have mostly completed this mod to my Apple 27" Display. Power delivery works a treat. It's been faultless. I am having troubles with the Thunderbolt > TB 3/4 cable placement inside the screen. When I then install the converter inside the screen, the USB2, FaceTime camera and Display Speakers drop off after about 10/15mins. I have tried multiple locations in the screen, but every time it plays up. My first point of call was the TB3/4 extension and purchased a different type but had the same result. To confirm my cables are good and working for long durations without fault, I moved the converter externally with just the short Apple Thunderbolt cable running out of the screen with the Apple TB > TB3/4 converter outside the screen. This then works perfectly and can't fault it. I then move it back inside the screen taking careful note of the USBC orientation, and it faults again... Placement of converter: mimic'd colin's placement from the video, tried further to the right above the speaker, and also to the left between the boar and the apple logo. I am in Australia, so we are 240v power here - wondering if I'm getting some sort of interference compared to 110v displays Could this be caused by heat issues from the main board? Has anyone experienced these kinds of issues with the conversion? Any input is very much welcome. Cheers
Really good detail here. I'm not sure what could cause this, but it seems like you've gone through the right steps to diagnose it. I kind of doubt 240V is the culprit - the display should be using the same total watts right? Lower amperage in fact, so potentially less heat. If I think of something, I'll comment back, but nothing comes to mind right now...
@@colindgrant Further update: wrapped the converter and connectors in aluminium tape to try and eliminate any interference issues (and yes too into account conductivity and covered potential areas with kapton tape). This brought on the issue ALOT quicker and completely killed the video signal after 10mins or so. This has lead me to it being a heat issue. I have since moved the convert further up and ontop of the apple logo give it far more air circulation, but am still having the extra functions drop off after 15mins or so (Display Audio, FaceTime Camera etc). Further playing around to be done. Out of interest, I have order a couple of different DP to USBC (TB2 > TB3) cables from Aliexpress to see what this does - will report back when it arrives. Don't have high hopes for these...
@@Johno_H That's so strange! The fans don't even come on in my monitors, and yet I don't seem to have an issue like yours. The DP to USB-C adapters you are seeing may be video-only. Those are the physical connectors but you'll need Thunderbolt 3/4 transport over the connectors, and to my knowledge only the Apple adapter does that. Nonetheless, please do report back!
Thank you I was able to follow up on this instruction and finished the mod. I used the original grommet and let the thunderbolt 3 to 4 adaptor's usb-c connector out of the monitor just in case I have to replace the extension cable.
Very nice. The only video out there retrofitting these beautiful displays. I wish you spent more time in showing us a step by step in putting together the finished charge module. Everything else had an in-depth instruction except putting the 39.4 resistor , shottky barrier diode and voltage conversion module together. How was that resistor connected? Did you use only 2 pins in the shottky diode connections? which one did you cutoff?
Yes, I could have shown more of that assembly, but it's just the same thing that I did on the breadboard. The resistor goes across positive and negative. I showed that at 10:27. And yes I only used two pins from the schottky barrier rectifier (because that's the 'diode' that I had laying around). You just need a single anode and single cathode, and I discuss that around 12:30.
Great video and awesome mod to keep this tech modern. Similar question, maybe redundant but the barrier it connected through the positive wire connection right?after the resistor? Just want to clarify as I want to do this mod myself but I’m not as well versed in electrical wiring.
I just completed this same change minus the power because my thunderbolt cable finally died from the bends. This video was very helpful, thank you! Although I has issues when connecting this to a new Mac mini. I ended up having to skip the thunderbolt extension cable you called out here. Apple thunderbolt cable to apple convertor was the only way it would work for me.
Thunderbolt extension cables are tricky. Technically they're not supported over a certain length. It's also critical that you get a true Thunderbolt compatible extension, because I've run into lots of USB-C extension cables that only carry power and USB, no video, no Thunderbolt. Glad to hear you were successful though!
Incredible. I have two of these monitors collecting dust. I have plans to build a workbench in my basement storage area near my lab rack. Your work just saved me from selling or chucking the ACD's. Please share updates if there are any!
That's great! It's awesome when you can extend the life of good but older tech. By the way if you have the older non-Thunderbolt display you can just use a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter instead of the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 adapter. I'm happy to report this setup has worked very well since posting a year ago. Good luck on your workbench build!
Very nice modification. I am surprised Apple just installed a thunderbolt port on the logic board. But hey it’s great for modifications! Thanks for sharing
Yeah, true. I started out that way but the beauty of the TB display to me was two lightweight straight flexible cables that moved with the laptop and were never in the way. The adapters I had were different sizes from each other, and magsafe is a 90 degree connection, so there was always some connector being tugged on. Plus the magsafe adapter I had go pretty hot. I made this video for anyone who wants to return to just having two direct cables like the original design. That works best for me, and it was fun too :)
@@gefthetalkingmongoose You and me both! I know there are Thunderbolt 4 hubs out now that will provide up to 100W charge and full TB4 speed over one USB-C cable. But I don't know how they inject power into the TB cable. They are pretty expensive, but I think if I used one I would ignore the power supply in the TB display, just run TB2 down to the hub, somewhere out of the way, and use Apple's TB2TB3 adapter at the hub. Then just the one cable from the hub to computer. That could be a slick setup. I read that regular TB intended for data only still carries a small amount of power (somewhere around 10W to 15W). So I'm pretty curious how TB and 100W Power Delivery charging is combined. My sense is that it's probably complicated, and bad for your laptop if you get it wrong :)
Thank you for your video! I‘m running my MBP 2018 with the Thunderbolt Display charging via MagSafe to USB-C adapter. Unfortunately these adapters are quite unreliable and become really hot during use. So this is a genius solution for USB-C MacBooks!
@@nivt5262 Yeah I tried one out and I had the exact same experience! It was an awkward angle and length, so it was always tugging on the laptop port too.
Hello Colin. I’ve attempted your mod with a MagSafe 2 to usb dongle from elecjet. However I’ve noticed it gets extremely hot and clicks without it being connected to the MacBook. I was wondering if you’d had any issues with your buck converter being constantly pulling current/getting hot without anything connected. I’m very much considering swapping out my current setup for the pd side of things with what you’ve demonstrated, potentially adhearing the bc to the case with some adhesive thermal pads to act as a big cooler
I tried one of those MagSafe adapter dongles before all of this and I too found it got extremely hot! That’s one of the reasons I pursued this project. Good news is that the PD power module doesn’t get hot at all and doesn’t appear to pull any significant current when it’s not powering anything. 👍
if I just want to use it for video via thunderbolt, can I do like you did with the adaptor inside and use a thunderbolt 3 extension cable to my mac? leaving the magsafe unplugged inside? you did incredibly well everything, congrats on all the work.
Thanks a lot Colin for this amazing video! I currently have an Apple Thunderbolt Display (27 inches) and I wanted to change my current MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015) for a M1 MacBook Air and/or a M2 MacBook Air. However Apple is discouraging users to do that because they say material is not compatible. Apparently users are complaining about flickers and dead pixels appearing (top right). Have you experienced anything like this since you made the cable changes? If not, I wonder why the team at Apple would be fixing compatibility on M1 MacBook Pro and not fix it on the M1 MacBook Pro. Both computers must be very similar.
I have heard about the flickering and I can confirm I have no issues, maybe an update fixed this? I have an iMac Mini M1 with an original Mac Thunderbolt Cinema Display 27" and also an Apple 24" LED Cinema Display (Display Port), I use a powered via USB, HDMI to Display Port Adapter. The iMac M1 Mini will not support 2 x Thunderbolt Displays. They only support 1 x Thunderbolt and 1 x HDMI. -: Video Support Simultaneously supports up to two displays: One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI Thunderbolt 3 digital video output supports Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C Thunderbolt 2, DVI and VGA output supported using adapters (sold separately) HDMI display video output Support for one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz DVI output using HDMI to DVI Adapter (sold separately) However the MacBook Pro M1 will support more depending on M1 chip: Display Support Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colours and: Up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colours (M1 Pro) or Up to three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colours (M1 Max) Thunderbolt 4 digital video output Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C VGA, HDMI, DVI and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately) HDMI digital video output Support for one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz DVI output using HDMI to DVI Adapter (sold separately) I am told the M2 chip has same limitations also.
there's another solution, you can use the thunderbolt 2 connection on the back with a thunderbolt 2 to thunderbolt 3 cable. Easy Peezy. there are also adapters for the magsafe to usb c
Any reason why you replaced the thunderbolt 2 cable inside the monitor, and not just use the one it had by by plugging the adapter directly to it? Any advantages to that? Amazing video btw, it is very inspiring!
I talked about that a little at the beginning. I had to replace the TB2 cable anyway, and my goal was to match the design concept of the original Thunderbolt Display. Power and data to the laptop with no dongles or adapters, total freedom of movement within the length of the cable(s) to the laptop. Glad you liked it!
Goddamn, this type of stuff revives electronics so that they dont go to ewaste. Great video. 2 questions though. 1. Did you have to solder anything? on the Charge Module? Am thinking about doing this myself 2. Does it have to be only apple devices? or can it be like AppleTV, Linux, Windows, etc?
@@colindgrant Does the 39Ω resistor mimic a signal that a macbook would put out? and also one thing I would change about this video is that I wished you showed how to make the charge module
@@AnzenRyzen Yeah the resistor is a value that the older non USB-C MagSafe system used. Connections are all explained in the video, but I chose not to include the actual soldering since that's a whole other subject!
Seems a little risky when it comes to removing the logic board. But yes, I just might try. My Thunderbolt Cinema Display is the best monitor I've used so far when It comes to picture clarity. Not very ergonomic if you use the standard stand though. Right now I power my MacBook Air M2 with the MagSasfe 3 and connect the Cinema Display with Apples Thunderbolt to USB-C connector. It seems to work really well. When I used my earlier MacBook Air M1 I experienced so much flicker that I discontinued using it and had to replace it with inferior monitors.
@@JustChillingDom Yep, exactly. CalDigit has one. I don't know how to properly combine power and Thunderbolt, could be complicated, and risky to my laptop!
I would really like to. But between Thunderbolt, USB-C, and Power Delivery standards, I'm just not sure how the power negotiation is supposed to go, and don't want to experiment on my brand new 16" M1 Pro! There are hubs that can do it though. Check out CalDigit.
would there be any way to combine the TB and power into one cable? iirc USB-PD negotiation happens over the power lines themselves so i wonder if the power pins going out could simply be injected into the outgoing cable?
I don't know how to combine USB-PD and Thunderbolt onto a cable electrically. I've looked into it a bit, and it's quite complex. The easiest solution would be to introduce a Thunderbolt 3/4 hub with Power Delivery to do everything over one cable. It's discussed elsewhere in this comment section.
Excellent video - thanks! I too have an "intermittent" display cable and need to replace it and so will use your method. Here are two rather naïve questions. First, since I never use the MagSafe power cord anyway (I easily charge my MacBook Pro with its own charger) I'll just skip that part entirely, and replace the video cable only. So question 1 is - is there anything wrong with that plan? Question 2 is why did you need to do all the voltage conversion in the first place? Are the voltage needs of the new MacBook so different? Why isn't it just a connector change, like for the video? Lastly, I am not sure how to take the existing Magsafe power cord out of the picture - just unplug within the display, or tie it unused on the outside, unused, to the new 3/4 extension cable. OK - now to go out and buy some suction cop and T6 and T10 torx heads. What was the T number for the display frame, BTW? Thanks!
I’ll go in reverse! I don’t remember the tire size for the frame but a small set is worthwhile, in the T5-20 range. If you want to do the internal usb-c conversion you can just leave out the steps I did for the voltage conversion entirely. Remove the umbilical cable and just stuff the TB2 to TB3 converter inside like I did. The voltage conversion was to change from MagSafe 2 to MagSafe 3 which is really just Power Delivery over USB-C, a part of the USB spec. The monitor won’t care that you’re not pulling power from it. Good luck!
@@colindgrant Ah, I see, thanks. The great paradigm changing innovation of having anything: data, input power, output power - anything but analog sound, come over a single cable type must have had _some_ overhead in specs.
I was philosophically referring to the new specs being required of the entire industry to accommodate the upgrade to USB-c, but yes, they were required here too. (I just want to repeat that your walkthrough was super clear!)
Honestly this sort of thing seemed way over my head until just recently. I bought a cheap Arduino kit on Amazon, sat down for two weekends in a row and did all the projects, and realized it wasn't nearly as scary as I imagined. I wish I had taken the first steps a long time ago!
@@sean.sullivan So sorry I missed this question! I bought one of the Elegoo UNO starter kits: www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Tutorial-Controller-Projects/dp/B01D8KOZF4
It’s a shame you can’t get an adapter like Utab’s minidisplay model that supports a power feed, too. Would it be possible to link both MagSafe and Thunderbolt adaptors to a USB C splitter inside the unit for a single cable option or would you loose TB capabilities?
I agree but loss of TB could be fixed with a Thunderbolt capable mini dock, something like 'belkin-thunderbolt-3-core-dock', connected in the monitor case collecting the thunderbolt and the usb-c power into one cable should work?!!? You could even add a HDMI port to the back of the screen!
Like miani just made a video about taking apart an iMac and turning it into a 5k monitor. I looked at the hdmi and display port board on the iMac he installed and I don’t see a fan. Do you think a 5k display could continue to be used without a fan? Here’s the video: ruclips.net/video/0VXQu0fAc8s/видео.html
That's a great video. I don't know if a fan is needed or not. The power supply for the Magsafe is probably what gets hot, if anything. I never ever hear my fans turn on, except briefly at startup now and then.
With this being 22 minutes long, I expected it to be a single cable solution... Why not just use the TB adapter for display and proper power brick for power? Same amount of cables, and you get full power charging.
I have a question, I have a Mac mini m1 and would like to do such a cable upgrade for the Apple Thanderbold Display. Would it be enough to just install a USB-C cable on the Apple Thanderbold display? The MagSafe cable is irrelevant to me. Thank you in advance for your effort!...👋🏻
@@colindgrant Thank you for the fast feedback! Then I will swap the original cable for a Thunderbolt cable. And again, thank you for the information…👍🏻
Ouch. I bought a MacBook Pro M3 Max, and I want to use my old 27" monitor and my 27" 2015 iMac as monitors. I thought I could buy Thunderbolt to USB-C adaptors and simply press Control 3, but it looks like I'm just putting more junk in the closet & researching cheaper 3rd party monitors.
Thunderbolt 2 is literally mini DP! As u had a dp to hdmi adapter and it worked on my old MacBook air(no longer uses it) and a pc that had a mini dp on the gpu!
Amazing video. What if I was lazy and wanted an external dock that took in Thunderbolt 2/Mini-Display port and USB-C power and outputted it all to a single USB-C cable. Does that exist?
You're thinking of USB Power Delivery (USB-PD), Thunderbolt 2 doesn't do that and these are Thunderbolt 2 displays. Only about 15W available for accessories. I would have to introduce a Thunderbolt 3/4 hub with Power Delivery to do everything over one cable. It's discussed elsewhere in this comment section.
Amazing video, it’s giving me some thoughts of picking up a Thunderbolt Display for my Mac Studio. Curious, is the MacBook able to control brightness and pass audio to the monitor speakers?
Yes! I can control brightness from the keyboard and both Thunderbolt displays show up as audio output options. I posted a 'short' that shows the brightness control from the keyboard.
@@colindgrant Woo! Thanks for the confirmation, Colin. Just picked up a mint Thunderbolt Display and can’t wait to convert it to USB-C. Owe all my thanks to you and this video.
I use 2 TB monitors with my Mac. You also could get around the busted cable by connecting the Mac to the thunderbolt port on the monitor with another cable.
I just purchase a Mac mini m1 and sales rep told me it was a plug and play with my old 27” Thunderbolt Display is there a quick work around to make this work like adapter of sorts your recommend
@@DavidMalcolm awesome much appreciate it , and let me get this straight you are running 2 27” Thunderbolt Display with you Mac mini m1 at full resolution using the Same adapters ?
@@carlosr.2027 I'm running two off a Mac Studio. The Mac mini M1 supports one display over Thunderbolt and one over HDMI. I am not aware of a way for it to power two Thumderbolt displays.
Great tutorial Colin! you could use this LINDY L43246 mini display port to usb-c with power delivery (it's also very cheap) and have only 1 usb-c cable my only problem now it's how to implement in this setup a usb for my mouse because i'm using logitech g pro mouse.
Unfortunately, the Lindy adapter you mentioned won't work with Thunderbolt Displays. It only outputs a video signal over the Display Port connector, and not a full Thunderbolt data stream.
Business, actually! But extra classes in Economics, Agricultural Engineering, and Computer Science. I took as many classes as they would let me. And I worked as an IT admin during college so I had a place to apply what I was learning. After that I made sure to just keep on learning, every single day! I'm not an expert, but I try to remember that all experts start from zero knowledge :)
How do I get the VESA mount off of a Thuderbolt display ? Every video shows how to put it on but NO ONE says how to get one off. On the broken one on the street Tuesday night the glass was gone but the LED display was OK the back with you OK the cables are OK I’d like to see if I can repair it and get it working again. But I need to get the VESA mount off.
Thunderbolt displays don't come with a VESA mount. The have a tilting stand built in. I added a VESA mount to mine from a brand called Human Centric. Search for "how to remove thunderbolt display stand", there are lots of those.
@@georgesenda1952 I found your video. It looks like the previous owner attached an Amer VESA kit to it. That's not original, but you can see some pictures of it here: www.amazon.com/Amer-MD179ZM-A-AMR-VESA-Kit/dp/B01BHCEZ3W
@@georgesenda1952 Not sure, I've never held one. Looks like there's a head screw on the side. If you can't remove it, then just use it for mounting to a display arm. Removing it will only get you to the hinge that works with the original stand. It's not necessary to replace the LED or glass panel.
Why retrofit the magsafe 2 into usb c rather than into usb a and use a USB a to magsafe 3 cable? You'd save a tb4 port on your laptop and actually make use of the magsafe 3 port. Did I miss something?
Yeah, that's another option. And that would definitely work with the way I converted Magsafe 2 into USB-C PD inside the monitor. It's a personal preference. I'm reserving my USB-C to Magsafe 3 cable for travel. I could have bought another but they're $50, and I actually like having the USB-C power delivery cable on my desk for temporarily powering other things. The intention with this retrofit was to have a very clean desktop and not plug anything else into the laptop, so I was ok with using up an additional TB4 port but I see your point on that.
Probably not as simple as a splice. With the right electronics, it could work. There are modern hubs that combined Thunderbolt 3/4 and Power delivery onto the same cable, with a single USB-C connector to your computer. I would assume you can plug Thunderbolt 2 into such a hub through the Apple Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter. The Apple adapter does not handle power, just TB signaling conversion. I have not seen a simpler way to combine TB2 and power onto a single USB-C cable.
The USB thunderbolt extension USB cable that you listed in the description from Amazon didn't work on my both Apple Thunderbolt display 27 inches A1407. 😢
Just picked up a second hand Thunderbolt display myself to attempt this mod. I have a few questions tho, why is the charging limited to 45W? I'm pretty sure that the display can deliver up to 85W, which means it shouldn't be supplying 16V but 18V right? The reason why I'm asking is that I'm going to try to add an OWC Thunderbolt Hub inside of the display, to add power delivery (which means only one cable). Most Thunderbolt Hubs are not bus powered, and mostly use 20V power supplies. PD on the hub can deliver up to 60W, which means I need a bit more than 45W right? How would I go about doing that, any tips?
Cool idea! I had the same question as you. The limitation is the voltage of the power supply inside the monitor. Once turned on, is right around 16V. It's possible that Apple Magsafe connectors pulled high enough current at 16V to supply 85W, not sure. But the power delivery module I used senses the 16V input and decides to shift to the nearest PD fixed-voltage output level which is 15V. My Macbook senses the charger is offering PD @ 15V, and I think it self-limits the current to 3 amps, netting 45W. I bet if you installed a boost converter to increase the supply voltage to say, 22V, the charge module would use PD @ 20V, and give you 60W charging. To be clear that setup would be: Thunderbolt Display Magsafe Power Supply -> Resistor+diode to turn it on > Boost converter (16V in, 20V+ out) -> Power delivery module -> USB-C cable offering PD @ 20V Let me know what you figure out!
@@colindgrant Thanks for the reply! I did some more reading and basically figured out what you just said. 15V indeed has a current limit which makes it usable for 45W only. I'm planning to get a boost converter to power the hub, and I'll keep you posted as soon as I have made any progress. Your resistor & diode setup is definitaly crucial for making this work, so thanks a lot!
@@colindgrant As promised, an update... I bought a few resistors, an OWC thunderbolt hub and the mentioned Schottky diode. I connected them to the Magsafe output of the PSU, and indeed got 16.5 volts, but even after the diode the voltage was fluctuating quite a lot? I connected a boost converter nontheless, but at that point the power supply started making a clicking noise which didn't sound very healthy, and the voltage dropped to 4 volts... I did some more reading on magsafe though, and apparently the PSU senses the current draw at 16.5v, and if it exceeds 4.1A the voltage will ramp up to 18.5 volts, or even higher. I've read that there might be contact points on the PSU that switch the voltage for calibration purposes at the factory. As I'm not too familiar with such complicated electronics I abandoned the project at that point to make sure I don't fry the power supply. I might dig back into it in the future, but my current setup works fine for me, except for the bulky PSU of the thunderbolt hub. I'm currently running the display into the hub using the thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter, and running the output (with PD) into my macbook, so the goal of running one cable for thunderbolt & charging has been achieved. I dissasembled the OWC thunderbolt hub, and I can say with certainty it would indeed fit inside the chassis of the display. It would only need a way to run it of the existing magsafe PSU, but I don't have the knowledge/experience to figure that out. Thanks anyway!
@@dogfreak3000 Thanks for the followup! Great info here. That would be super cool if you could stash the TB hub inside the display and power it from the display as well. What input voltage does it need? Can you link me to the OWC hub you bought? Or to pictures of the internals? You ought to make a "What's inside?" type video just showing the internals, that would be super helpful! C'mon, do it ;) Anyway, I'm going to put that on the project list (but there is a long backlog right now!) Thanks again for following up.
Hi again@@dogfreak3000, I was re-reading your comment about how you read that "the PSU senses the current draw at 16.5v, and if it exceeds 4.1A the voltage will ramp up to 18.5 volts, or even higher". I would very much appreciate it if you could link me to any website that talks about that! Thanks!
Thanks for this informative video. I have a Mac mini M1 connected to an Apple Thunerbolt Display. So I don't need the power cord. Now the Thundebolt cable seems to give up the ghost (occasional, short-term blackouts). Can I just replace the Thunderbolt cable with your method and leave the connector for the power cable empty?
Yes, you could use this method to put the adapter inside the monitor case and run a USB-C cable down to your Mac Mini. Or you could use the method recommended by @DavidMalcolm above, just buy a TB2 to TB2 cable, plug it into the port on the back of the Thunderbolt display, then coil up your original umbilical cable and ignore it!
When the display is flickering, why does everyone feel confident that the problems stems from the thunderbolt cable, but not other components like the logic board or the power supply. Thanks for the walkthrough though.
@@leonugraha I had the same skepticism and questions. I can only share my experience: - With single TBD plugged in using original cables. - Same symptoms on 2015 MBP w/TB2 and also 2021 MBP M1 w/TB2-3 converter. - Display would suddenly go fully black (not backlit, as if unpowered), with no obvious cause - Display stayed black, did not flicker, did not self recover - Occurred with no physical movement, no particular temperature, no change in peripherals, no identifiable length of time, or pattern of app usage. - Arriving at my desk in the morning, display would often not wake up. - Unplugging/replugging the TB2 cable would sometimes bring back display image, sometimes peripherals like iSight camera or built in speaker would come back as well, sometimes not. - Only reliable recovery method was cycling power on display and rebooting laptop. - Even while things were working, I could feel heat on the TB2 connector at laptop. - Easiest test is to unplug the built in TB2 cable, use a standalone TB2 cable plugged into the daisy chain socket on display. It's an all digital connection, so I think this was an issue of some signaling or voltage threshold being violated. Or perhaps the shielding was broken down and allowing interference. I believe the laptop detected something was out of bounds and just shut it down. I didn't look for logs, but there may be some. If your display comes back on its own, that may be a different issue.
Colin I saw your video and I am really inspired to do this mod as well. A couple of questions. 1. How aviod being shocked? I am a bit afaid to mod this. 2. Will this moitor work if i just remove the all in one cable and use the out side thunderbolt port? 3. Will this work with a half mod without doing the power delivery usbc?
Just to follow up, yes you can do just power or just data. No need to do both. The safest way to avoid being shocked is to leave the monitor unplugged for a couple weeks before opening it.
Amazing work here mate! I think I have a similar problem to others, but I cannot get my MacBook Pro M1 Pro 14 “ to work with the TB display via the TB2 to TB3 adaptor. For whatever reason, it just won’t fire up the TB display. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the compliment! As for your issue I would try to verify operation on an older laptop with Thunderbolt 2. Make sure it's turning on as expected, and let it run for at least 24 hours, through a sleep cycle, and make sure it wakes up without issue. Lots of people have trouble with these monitors just due to the cable, or something wrong inside the monitor itself. I would just double-check all of that before suspecting anything to do with the TB2 to TB3 adapter or the M1 laptop. Maybe you've already done that. Another thing to keep in mind is that the various M1 laptops have different limitations on the external displays that can be connected. So another test is to connect a non-Thunderbolt display to your M1 laptop and see if it works. Hopefully one of those paths helps you find the root cause.
Is it definitely a Thunderbolt Display or is it the LED Cinema Display? The latter has a Display Port interface and would require and adapter to connect via HDMI port on the Mac.
great video, now do you think you could create a switch to use our thunderbolts with two computers?? I've been looking everywhere and it doesn't exist. without having to constantly plug and unplug our Macs. It's the same for the new studio and xdr pros.. all kvm switches are hdmi, display port, but NONE work with this thunderbolt 2 or 3. I can't be the only one who wants this! You seem capable of such a thing!! liked and subbed by the way!
Hi@@sean.sullivan, sorry I missed your comment. The extension cable is linked in the description. As far as a KVM, I'm guessing the reason you're not finding them is that KVMs usually switch a pure video signal (well, in addition to keyboard and mouse). But Thunderbolt is a general data transport standard. It's kind of like a ferry, and video/audio/USB/ethernet are the cars that can ride on the ferry. They can drive point to point on their own, but in order to ride the Thunderbolt ferry, you have to have a ferry terminal at either end. So in order to have a KVM that acted like a ferry terminal for Thunderbolt, it would need extra chips and licensing, and that would drive up cost. I don't know of a way to connect two Thunderbolt video sources (computers) to a single Thunderbolt display. The nearest thing I can think of is to us a non-Thunderbolt HDMI display, and use Thunderbolt to HDMI dongles on each computer's output. I know that's not what you're hoping to hear!
Hi Colin, Can i check if your setup can do brightness control using "Ctrl + F1/F2" keyboard shortcut? I am having an M1 iMac and connect to 24" LED Cinema Display. I am unable to control the display brightness using this keyboard shortcut, but am able to do so with my Intel 2015 MBP. Hence, I am using a 3rd party app known as MonitorControl on my M1 iMac to control the brightness.
It works on my M1 Mac using Control (^) + F1/F2...most of the time. I have noticed that sometimes after resuming from sleep, one or both of the external monitors will not respond to the keyboard shortcut. When this happens, I can go to Displays settings and see that the brightness slider is missing there as well. The fix is to unplug monitor power for 20+ seconds, then unplug/re-plug the Thunderbolt cable. Definitely non-ideal.
Really cool solution and I was able to take this on myself thanks to your great video! I am having one issue. The PD module seems to work just fine with my MBP M1 2021, charging at 45W. However when I use with a similar vintage MB Air, the charging is intermittent. This is indicated through the connection chime and the battery icon. Any ideas what might be going on? I did try different USB C cables and was able to replicate the issue with a variety of cables.
Ahh, sorry to hear that! I hoped it would be a universal solution for Macs with USB-C charging. I will think on it but I don't have any ideas off the top of my head.
I tried that first and it was awful. The adapters are bulky, the Magsafe adapter overheats and connection light becomes useless, plus there is lots of stress placed on the USB-C ports. It defeated the best feature of the Thunderbolt display to me - a clean desktop. So like I say in the video, my goal was to get that back with my new Mac.
All I want to do is figure out a way to use the firewire and thunderbolt ports to add a few more USB ports. Anyone have a simple solution like a chord that plugs into the firewire or thunderbolt ports and creates a dock?
It's a Vivo dual monitor arm. The same model is sold by a few manufacturers under different model numbers. It's decent but dual 27" screens is pushing it on any of the common arms out there. I've tried 6-8 different models and I like this one the best because it keeps the screens in the same orientation relative to each other. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LM68CSP
Hi, nice video! if i would like to do the same, would i be able to connect my original usb-c to magsafe instead for charging ? that would free up one usb-c port and it would look even more authentic.. only problem i have is that converter and that resister and so on, not sure i can pull that of.. but Damm that would be a killer mod, instead of that dongle hell im running now
The USB-C to Magsafe 3 cable works in other USB-C power supplies. So it should work in the USB-C power delivery module I show in this video. But you will still have to do the modifications I showed to get the Thunderbolt Display to supply power to the module. Good luck getting out of dongle hell!
Thanks for pointing that out! I'll add it. Yes, you must have the resistor in order to get the Magsafe power supply in the monitor to supply full voltage.
What about taking a new MagSafe 3 to USB-C from Apple and hacking the USB-C side and soldering it to the inside of the Thunderbolt Display. It's already 85 watts. You get to use MagSafe 3, you get back a USB-C/Thunderbolt port on your MBP. I just got a 16" MBP M1 Pro, bought a MagSafe 1/2 adapter to USB-C, I only get 45 watts, plenty to keep the MBP charged since it sips power, but I would prefer to use MagSafe and get back a port.
There are a couple things that make that difficult: 1) Cost; go check out what Apple wants for Magsafe 3 cables and chargers! 2) The MS3 cable itself is USB-C based, but it needs USB-C Power Delivery negotiation so hacking off and directly soldering isn't an option. 3) The TB Display only has so much power available. I've read 'up to 85W', but it's a 16V system, so that would be over 5A and I don't think it can actually supply that much. But what you could do is install the USB-C PD module I showed, and simply plug a Magsafe3 cable into the USB-C port. You're right, that would give one of your USB-C/TB ports back. At the time I did this the MS3 cables were in short supply, and only available from Apple. I haven't checked recently. But at the time I wanted to keep mine for travel.
@@colindgrant thank you for the reply. When I get a chance, I'm gonna do this retrofit. I wish someone would make a plug n play solution, but I do know how to solder. Just gonna have to get around to it eventually.
I’m still running an older MacBook Pro and need to adapt this to an HDMI VIDEO station with a new USB C laptop using a KVM switch. Video is my issue. Can I swap the video cable like you did, but terminate it in HDMI from USB C?
I'll probably get some specifics wrong here, but let me try and answer off the top of my head... It gets really confusing because the names of connectors and transport standards are used interchangeably. USB-C is a connector, used for newer transports like USB 3 and 4, and Thunderbolt 3 and 4. But it is backwards compatible with the older versions too. DisplayPort is a connector that originally carried signals very similar to HDMI. It already existed when it was chosen as the connector for Thunderbolt 1 and 2 transports. HDMI is a transport AND a connector for digital audio and video and maybe some security stuff. And it is backwards compatible with DVI, which is video only. The Thunderbolt display is not an HDMI device. It connects to a Thunderbolt capable computer and makes use of the full Thunderbolt transport standard. Video and audio and ethernet and USB data are some of the 'cars' on the Thunderbolt 'ferry', if you will. Yes, HDMI is a car that can drive on its own, between your DVD player and TV for instance, but it can't get on a ferry unless there is a terminal on either end. My conversion still connects through the Thunderbolt transport. It's just that the adapter from Apple, stuffed inside the display, does two things: 1) it converts the Thunderbolt transport version from TB2 (display) to TB3 (computer), and 2) it coverts the connector from DisplayPort to USB-C. From your question I can't tell if you are using a Thunderbolt Display at all. If you are, then you can't get around the fact that it must be connected to a Thunderbolt computer, regardless of the connector. But Thunderbolt displays, and Thunderbolt computers can *output* video to non-Thunderbolt devices. Your older Macbook probably has a Thunderbolt 2 port, using the DisplayPort connector. And you can get a dongle to convert DisplayPort to HDMI. But it's just an output. If you're trying to connect two computers to a KVM switch, and you just need to output video from your older MacBook to an HDMI input port on the KVM, then you should be good with an adapter dongle. But my older 2015 MBP also had a HDMI port, so I would just use that.
It just has to be a 60W+ USB-C compliant cable. Nothing special. There are tougher cables, but my experience Apple cables are reliably compliant, so it's what I reach for. It didn't matter so much before, but in the age of USB-C, there are a lot more requirements of the cable, and many cables simply don't meet them.
I followed the steps (video only - I simply unplugged the MagSafe) but now, with display plugged in, I get no video nor can I hear the display fan come on. I.e. The MacBook pro shows _no_ second display. I really don't know if anything is coming out of the 40 Gbps 240 W USBc cord at all. (I opened the display back up and rechecked that all the plugs seemed snugly in place. When lifting and closing the LCD panel, there are 4 connecters to deal with - A black plastic cable bus, the screwed-in ground wire, a 6-pin connect and a weird long flat connector (w/ no pins?). The long one is the only one that never felt like it connected tightly. It only went in label-down. For diagnostics, I have only an old analog multimeter. Might you have any trouble-shooting ideas? Thanks -SL
Here is my cautionary tale: My unit was 10 years old, and after I hot-glued into place the new cable and went to screw-down the video board, I tightened the screws too much, and three of the tiny brittle plastic towers supporting the screw sockets simply disintegrated, leaving the sockets unusable and the video board poorly reattached. Perhaps for that reason the monitor no longer worked. For lack of diagnostic equipment and knowledge, I abandoned the unit for parts. (I note that a less arduous fix is to buy a used cable like the original as a replacement, and live with the Thunderbolt 2->3 adaptor being outside the case, and just ignore the magsafe power cord).
i want to use it on imac as second monitor? can you guide me how? my TB display power cable is not working it flickers the display so i am thinking to do this modification and power up TB display again? any thoughts on this?
Sounds like you just need a new cable, you don't need anything in this video. Apple publishes articles about how to use an iMac as a display. I've never done it.
Cool project from technical standpoint. BUT the result is not so impressive. Nothing I would like to have on my desktop. Even the Apple Cinema Displays might be good enough for many use cases.
Your comment doesn't make sense. The Cinema Displays are not compatible with this laptop. This is video about Thunderbolt connectivity. If you don't need that, then I'm not sure why you watched and commented.
It cool video Im using a Macbook pro 2017 and Thunderbolt display 27” When using Mac os Ventura every thing is ok, no issue But when i running windows 11 install by bootcamp, Thunderbolt display not working Please help me, thanks you
Thank you for the video - as I have few Thunderbolt displays in hands. I have tried to use the MagSafe for older MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. I have grown to DISLIKE the power cable portion - it created the tension on the most precious Thunderbolt 2 connector, which I saw on many Thunderbolt Display. I have disconnected the Octopus cable's internal power connector, then cut off the external power cable. However, aesthetically, it looked ugly with the TB2-> TB3 adapter, plus the thickness of the the remaining cable. I really like your method of hiding the adapter internally and only has TB3 cable coming out. During my modification, I cut the 0.5m TB2 cable's plastic cover and it shows the "connector" exactly the length and style like the OEM's Octopus internal TB2 connector! So, I can use the connector's cover, without needing the glue! I also save Octopus cable's the white center "button" for the TB3 cable to pass through (again, with cutting and gluing) - now it feels like the TB3 cable was part of the TB Display... It suits perfectly for my M1/M2 Mac Minis. Thanks again for inspiring me to make this modification!
That’s so slick, nice work!!!
Nicely done! I just replaced mine and reeeally wanted to cut into the plastic cover on the end of the thunderbolt cable to see if it was long enough to fit. I was too scared since it was the only one I had on hand. I installed it without glue or anything but this is amazing. I will go back and install it "properly" once i get another cable on hand.
@@TheGrizzlyKnight It IS long enough, and fits perfectly! I've got video of the mod, I just need to edit and post it. I used a small cuttoff wheel to make two lengthwise cuts down the white plastic shell and popped it off. It appears to be the exact same connector as the one you find inside the display.
@tenorcello any chance you can do a write up / video / or even just some photos?
@@kickwriteteach2313 It's on my list!
love how far your curiosity took you.
Awesome work. It’s funny that I only came here for adapter info, yet watched the entire video because geek stuff. Looked like a fun project!
Beautiful clean setup! Kudos Colin for converting the Display.
Thank you very much
Colin...
Thank You!
A) I have 2 Thunderbolt Displays in front of me right now. (and 1 in storage with a bad tb cable!)
B) I loved these things when I walked out of the Apple Store a decade ago with the 2 giant suitcases they come in. Specifically for the use case that you are resurrecting: a single ultra-clean umbilical cable across my desk to my MacBook Pro. The monitor itself was a dock with all of my peripherals attached. The minimalism was unprecedented, and you've made a way to bring that forward to 2023. So thank you.
C) This opens up a Bunch of other options as well for other use cases that fellow owners may have, such as:
1- Just unplug both the TB and the Power, remove the umbilical, and that's it.....get rid of that annoying ass cable that I loved in the beginning but has been driving me crazy ever since. First of all you don't actually need it because you can send TB into the other port on the back of the monitor anyways. Unless you actually need to daisy-chain thunderbolt, which I do, so...
2- Remove the umbilical, leave the power disconnected, and Just add a new TB2 cable At Whatever Length You Actually Need!!! If you're not using a MagSafe laptop, that thing is just dangling around (with gaff tape on mine) not connected anyways, and I'm guessing not using the MagSafe power will extend the life of your display's power supply as well. Plus that cable was Always too short if you were say hooking these Thousand Dollar monitors to anything Other than a laptop on your desk. Say a Mac Pro tower....loaded with hard disks...and all the fans and heat, at my feet! (Where were you 10 years ago Colin!)
3- I'm guessing that Most people would benefit most from rather than doing that impressive power PD supply hack on the inside of the display, or even putting the TB3 to TB2 adapter on the inside, simply follow your umbilical removal technique, drop the power all together and replace with a New TB2 (at chosen length), which looks like it'll hot-glue down even cleaner. Then use that TB3 to TB2 adapter at the End of the new TB2 cable going into your TB3/4 Dock of choice, which can solve many other issues. You can Hide it and everything else you need plugged into it, and maybe bypass the dock built into the TB Display. And you can Hide it. So on the clean theme, while this display impressively minimized down to one cable and two connections, these new docks can supply TB Data, Displayport Video, and 100+ Watts Power all down a Single TB3/4 cable. Can't get any more minimal than One!
(well wireless is coming...)
4- (Disclaimer: I read through the comments so I know you already addressed what other pointed out, and I agree with you on the price and length of these apple cables, but for anyone else...)
If money was no object and you wanted the cleanest "Apple did it in 2023" upgrade, then you follow the video and remove the old umbilical, then install Colin's PD USB-C power mod ($?), then install the Apple TB3-TB2 adapter ($50) as described, and then... you install the 2-meter, midnight color, Apple USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable ($50) and a 1.8-meter Apple Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable in black ($130). Add some snakeskin cable wrap and some heat-shrink tubing and for a couple hundred bucks you have a new Apple Umbilical that does exactly what the old one did.
(Now while that MagSafe cable is 50 bucks and I don't know an alternative, I'm sure you can find a matching aftermarket TB3 cable for Much Less than the Apple Pro one. And you could get both in silver closer to the OG theme. But whether you Spend less than a hundred or close too three, that money doesn't buy you extra functions, where just buying a TB2 cable and investing the rest in a TB3/4 Dock actually results in a cleaner setup, better Power Delivery, and additional functionality, while retaining All the original functionality.)
5- I'll be cracking mine open soon. But since you've shown us mere mortals the way, I wonder your thoughts on the other Elephant sized Apple in the room.... getting these Thunderbolt Displays to accept DisplayPort video information!
For years I have regretted getting these Apple Thunderbolt Displays because at the time I also had two Apple Cinema Displays that were much less expensive and nearly identical, except... The TBDs had TB2 Docks built in, which as we discussed was amazing, for a while. Using the built in docks meant running all of the cables Up to the Monitor, which as much cable management as I did was always hideous. And I could just get a standalone TB Dock, and Hide it, which ultimately you had to do anyways if you need your computer more than a couple of feet away. Daisy-chaining a dock extends your range, and can tuck the rats-nest away neatly underneath or behind something. The built in was only used for USB sticks, iLok, BT dongles etc. No cables.
So then the TBDs advantage went away over the ACDs, and the disadvantages became obnoxious. The identical looking miniDisplayPort connectors on the Cinema Displays could easily be converted to DVI and even HDMI. Not the Thunderbolt Displays. Even though Thunderbolt is just the PCI protocol and DisplayPort protocol on one cable using miniDisplayPort connectors. You can't get to the DisplayPort signal without TB Magic. At least that was the conclusion of many of us in the pissed off owners circle, back then...
Do you know of any advancements in the past X years that allow us to use this monitor simply as a Monitor?
As I just bought a 55-inch OLED with Dolby Vision for $350 bucks this last Black Friday, my anxiety levels have definitely diminished along with my dreams. But I do like the thought of sleighing this dragon once and for all!
But at least you've shown me how to lop off a few of these Hydras' heads, even if I can't ultimately make them bow to my authority!
Glad to be of help!
To your last point, you've basically got it right: the Thunderbolt 2 connector is the same as a DisplayPort connector. And the unmodified Thunderbolt Display requires a Thunderbolt port, it will not run off of simple DisplayPort.
Meanwhile the TB2 port on a Mac will function as TB2 or DisplayPort automatically.
I spent many many hours researching this and finally got to the bottom of how video is unloaded from Thunderbolt. From memory...
Thunderbolt is a Ferry. DisplayPort is a car, as are USB, Ethernet, Firewire, Audio, iSight Camera, etc. They can drive on their own, or they can be carried on a Ferry. But a Ferry needs a special terminal, it can't go straight to a driveway!
The Thunderbolt Display and your Mac have Intel's Thunderbolt chipset onboard, as do all Thunderbolt devices. This chipset loads 'Cars' on and off of the 'Ferry'.
The unloading action on the Thunderbolt Cinema Display breaks out audio/USB/Ethernet 'Cars' to the ports on the back, and sends *one* video 'Car' to the LCD panel. Each Intel chipset is capable of unloading *only a single* video type 'Car'. It cannot break out video to go to the LCD panel and also send video in the DisplayPort format to the port on the back.
Remaining 'Cars' still on the 'Ferry' are sent out the back port onward to other Thunderbolt devices.
A second, third, or fourth Thunderbolt Cinema Display does the same thing.
So to get a DisplayPort signal out of a Thunderbolt signal what you need is a Thunderbolt device with two ports, and no built in video device! That way, the Intel Thunderbolt chipset inside, can unload the video and place it on the output.
In my previous setup I used a Belkin TB2 hub to accomplish this. I was able to run a DisplayPort monitor off of the Belkin hub's extra TB2 port. This can be done once, at the end of the daisy chain.
My setup was:
Macbook Pro 2015 ->
TB2/Magsafe umbilical cable ->
Thunderbolt Cinema Display ->
TB2 cable ->
Belkin TB2 Hub ->
DisplayPort to DVI adapter cable ->
DVI based Dell monitor
So I had a TBCD and DP based display both running off of the single TB2 port on my Mac, no extra cables. It was nice for its time!
@@colindgrant Great analogy, I have been tinkering trying to get 2 x TB displays to work on the Mini M1but it its not possible. I suspect apple may have blocked it in the software driver but not 100% sure
@@symosys Each Mac has a given number of displays it can support, based on hardware resources.
In the old days you had an individual video card for every display, and while the hardware has changed the resource constraints still exist.
So while Thunderbolt may have enough bandwidth for many displays, the Mac still fundamentally has to have enough hardware resources to support each additional screen.
My 2021 MBP 16" M1 shown in the video can support the built in screen, and my two external monitors using built in display-dedicated hardware. To drive the third screen I use a DisplayLink adapter, which borrows from the USB-dedicated hardware.
You may be able to use DisplayLink to add another display. Good luck!
This is a great setup. I have a thunderbolt display and the new macbook with magsafe 3 and I wanted to use the magsafe 1 from the display. However, after watching this video I have decided it's too much hassle for me. But your tutorial is awesome anyway!
i imagine it would be pretty cool if you had the second wire as a USB C to magsafe to supply power, just as it originally was. Really cool project!
Thanks! You’re right. I’m keeping the USB-C to Magsafe 3 cable that came with the MacBook for travel but it would totally work instead of the USB-C to USB-C cable I used for power.
@@colindgrant you could also utilize the thunderbolt extension chord you bought in combination with a usb-c multi port adapter which allows powerdelivery pass-through. This way you can get both power and data through one usb-c (thunderbolt) cable. At home I just connect one thunderbolt cable to my setup for both charging, display and peripherals.
@@atacant Link?
@@colindgrant I live in turkey so it might not be applicable for you but it is a dock from Baseus, it looks like an O.
@@atacant Thanks. I've seen those but not one that supports Thunderbolt. I think "video over USB-C" is a different transport protocol than "video over Thunderbolt", even if Thunderbolt is using a USB-C type connector.
The Mac probably supports both, but I'm pretty sure these monitors are specifically looking for "video over Thunderbolt".
Thank you for this video.
I did almost the same mod based on the information here.
The major difference is that I started with the older led cinema 27" because it is cheaper and can be modded to give charge through a single connector. The only major difference between the two is the webcam.
What I did was to replace the webcam with the one from the thunderbolt display. It is a straight swap and cost about €15.
I then split the cable into the three separate cables (DP, USB and Magsafe) using a sharp knife.
Magsafe I cut and modded the same way as here using a 39k and a 390 ohm resistor in series.
The USB cable I replaced entirely with a much shorter one and the DP cable was terminated with a DP to mini DP adapter.
All of these parts I then connected to a simple USB-C dock I found for about €15 on aliexpress and extended the cable with a USB-C extension cable.
All of this of course with liberal amounts of shrink tube, a couple of zipties and even a ziploch bag to insulate the display cable. And a quick and dirty strain relief.
Total cost was about €50 on top of the €200 display and it took me and my friend maybe two hours.
It works an absolute treat. The biggest letdown is seriously that I wasn't sble to source a white braided USB-C extension cable.
That is so cool! I'm so glad you shared the details of construction. Do you know how to get more than 15-16V out of the display's power supply? Is that what the 390 Ohm is all about?
I didn't know the two models were so similar, that's great. And DisplayPort gives you many more options, like the USB-C dock you mentioned. Ever looked at TB4 docks? They're not cheap, and there aren't many options. Meanwhile video over USB-C (alt mode I think it's called?) is more and more common.
I like keeping older tech alive and it sounds like you do too. I'd love to see this project, and I'll bet lots of others too. Ever consider making a video?
Let me know if you figured out how to get more voltage from the power supply. I'm curious about using it to power a TB4 hub with PD, in order to get down to a single cable.
@@colindgrant I'm not sure it is actually possible, or at least it not easy, to get more than 16,5V out of it. And even if you did it would be close to 20V and not the 21V requried for the PD adapter to deliver the 20V level of the PD specification. So we are pretty much limited to 45W without some major modifications to the power delivery setup. And I'm fine with that. When I dock my computer it is for hours so 45W will keep the battery topped up just fine. Persumably there could be a scenario with heavy power usage (I do CAD for example) that actually has to dip into the battery reserves to keep running. But I think that is a supported scenario.
The 390 Ohm resistor was to make up the 39,41K resistor needed to start the magsafe circuit. The actual value isn't actually that critical. But I had 39K resistors as well as many other values. Bue to tolerances in resistors they could actually be quite a bit off the specified value, especially for my cheap ebay ones from many years ago. So I used 39K as a starting point and experimented with some combination until I got close enough.
Yeah, they are pretty much identical apart from the webcam and the IO on the back which on the TB has the firewire, ethernet and thunderbolt daisy chain. And since you can't daisy chain two displays in this scenario those ports probably aren't getting used by most people anyway. The casing is certainly the same and the speakers, power supply and panel are supposedly identical. So the difference is the webcam and the control board. So in this scenario I would say the Cinema Display is the better starting point unless you already own the Thunderbolt Display and the adapter.
I did consider a TB dock but they are far larger, harder to install inside the display and also cost something like €300 or more. I can't see any real benefit to that approach over mine. Maybe it would be possible to get some kind of daisy chaining going but that's it.
I don't have the time or the skills to make a video out of this. I do have a few bad pictures I took. If you would like to make a short follow-up to this video using those pictures and do some commentary explaining what is going on I'd be very happy to see it out there.
This is cool, there are some small DP adapters out there which have a second port for power, too (elecjet) so both display and power are delivered via one cable. - The regular USB needs to be connected to allow camera + keyboard shortcuts - brightness, volume etc. (even for wireless keyboards which I found odd)
From memory the cinema displays and Thunderbolt displays were available at the same time, a lot of refurbers prefer the cinema model claiming they are more reliable. - personally I don’t like the 3 adapters when connecting the conventional way.
I think it would be pretty easy, if not expensive, to just find the smallest thunderbolt hub with power input and take it apart and see if it fits anywhere inside the display. that way you get power and thunderbolt through one cable.
Yeah, I think that's a great way to do it. If you find something that's affordable, please post up!
Well, now I'm pursuing this idea :) The challenge is going to be powering the TB4 hub from the display's power supply with sufficient wattage so that the hub can power the laptop via PD.
@@colindgrant Hi! Did You ever succeed with this idea?)
@@OleksandrPakhalchuk Still working on it. I am using an Anker TB4 hub, but it looks like it will need more input power than the TB Display's magsafe power supply can provide.
Hi, I have mostly completed this mod to my Apple 27" Display. Power delivery works a treat. It's been faultless.
I am having troubles with the Thunderbolt > TB 3/4 cable placement inside the screen. When I then install the converter inside the screen, the USB2, FaceTime camera and Display Speakers drop off after about 10/15mins. I have tried multiple locations in the screen, but every time it plays up.
My first point of call was the TB3/4 extension and purchased a different type but had the same result.
To confirm my cables are good and working for long durations without fault, I moved the converter externally with just the short Apple Thunderbolt cable running out of the screen with the Apple TB > TB3/4 converter outside the screen. This then works perfectly and can't fault it. I then move it back inside the screen taking careful note of the USBC orientation, and it faults again...
Placement of converter: mimic'd colin's placement from the video, tried further to the right above the speaker, and also to the left between the boar and the apple logo.
I am in Australia, so we are 240v power here - wondering if I'm getting some sort of interference compared to 110v displays
Could this be caused by heat issues from the main board?
Has anyone experienced these kinds of issues with the conversion? Any input is very much welcome.
Cheers
Really good detail here. I'm not sure what could cause this, but it seems like you've gone through the right steps to diagnose it. I kind of doubt 240V is the culprit - the display should be using the same total watts right? Lower amperage in fact, so potentially less heat. If I think of something, I'll comment back, but nothing comes to mind right now...
@@colindgrant Further update: wrapped the converter and connectors in aluminium tape to try and eliminate any interference issues (and yes too into account conductivity and covered potential areas with kapton tape). This brought on the issue ALOT quicker and completely killed the video signal after 10mins or so. This has lead me to it being a heat issue. I have since moved the convert further up and ontop of the apple logo give it far more air circulation, but am still having the extra functions drop off after 15mins or so (Display Audio, FaceTime Camera etc). Further playing around to be done.
Out of interest, I have order a couple of different DP to USBC (TB2 > TB3) cables from Aliexpress to see what this does - will report back when it arrives. Don't have high hopes for these...
@@Johno_H That's so strange! The fans don't even come on in my monitors, and yet I don't seem to have an issue like yours.
The DP to USB-C adapters you are seeing may be video-only. Those are the physical connectors but you'll need Thunderbolt 3/4 transport over the connectors, and to my knowledge only the Apple adapter does that.
Nonetheless, please do report back!
Thank you I was able to follow up on this instruction and finished the mod. I used the original grommet and let the thunderbolt 3 to 4 adaptor's usb-c connector out of the monitor just in case I have to replace the extension cable.
That's great to hear! Nice work.
That’s awesome!!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience🙏🙏🙏
I’ve also made this, but without charging cable (I don’t need it) - totally works
Very nice. The only video out there retrofitting these beautiful displays. I wish you spent more time in showing us a step by step in putting together the finished charge module. Everything else had an in-depth instruction except putting the 39.4 resistor , shottky barrier diode and voltage conversion module together. How was that resistor connected? Did you use only 2 pins in the shottky diode connections? which one did you cutoff?
Yes, I could have shown more of that assembly, but it's just the same thing that I did on the breadboard. The resistor goes across positive and negative. I showed that at 10:27. And yes I only used two pins from the schottky barrier rectifier (because that's the 'diode' that I had laying around). You just need a single anode and single cathode, and I discuss that around 12:30.
Great video and awesome mod to keep this tech modern.
Similar question, maybe redundant but the barrier it connected through the positive wire connection right?after the resistor?
Just want to clarify as I want to do this mod myself but I’m not as well versed in electrical wiring.
I just completed this same change minus the power because my thunderbolt cable finally died from the bends. This video was very helpful, thank you! Although I has issues when connecting this to a new Mac mini. I ended up having to skip the thunderbolt extension cable you called out here. Apple thunderbolt cable to apple convertor was the only way it would work for me.
Thunderbolt extension cables are tricky. Technically they're not supported over a certain length. It's also critical that you get a true Thunderbolt compatible extension, because I've run into lots of USB-C extension cables that only carry power and USB, no video, no Thunderbolt. Glad to hear you were successful though!
How long did it take you start to finish to just replace the one cable? Minus the power?
@@roysgti 15-20min
Fantastic work, excellent solution
God mode displays! need to get this figured out
brilliant work Colin! I want to try this out!
love the hustle! thanks for the info
Incredible. I have two of these monitors collecting dust. I have plans to build a workbench in my basement storage area near my lab rack. Your work just saved me from selling or chucking the ACD's. Please share updates if there are any!
That's great! It's awesome when you can extend the life of good but older tech. By the way if you have the older non-Thunderbolt display you can just use a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter instead of the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 adapter. I'm happy to report this setup has worked very well since posting a year ago. Good luck on your workbench build!
Very nice modification. I am surprised Apple just installed a thunderbolt port on the logic board. But hey it’s great for modifications! Thanks for sharing
Yeah, right? I was surprised and delighted too!
Alternatively just attach Thunderbolt-to-USB-C and MagSafe-to-USB-C adapters to the end of the breakout cable. That's what I did, works fine.
Yeah, true. I started out that way but the beauty of the TB display to me was two lightweight straight flexible cables that moved with the laptop and were never in the way. The adapters I had were different sizes from each other, and magsafe is a 90 degree connection, so there was always some connector being tugged on. Plus the magsafe adapter I had go pretty hot. I made this video for anyone who wants to return to just having two direct cables like the original design. That works best for me, and it was fun too :)
@@colindgrant It was interesting to watch 👍 I’d love to know if anyone has figured out a single wire solution, maybe using a hub of some kind?
@@gefthetalkingmongoose You and me both! I know there are Thunderbolt 4 hubs out now that will provide up to 100W charge and full TB4 speed over one USB-C cable. But I don't know how they inject power into the TB cable. They are pretty expensive, but I think if I used one I would ignore the power supply in the TB display, just run TB2 down to the hub, somewhere out of the way, and use Apple's TB2TB3 adapter at the hub. Then just the one cable from the hub to computer. That could be a slick setup.
I read that regular TB intended for data only still carries a small amount of power (somewhere around 10W to 15W). So I'm pretty curious how TB and 100W Power Delivery charging is combined. My sense is that it's probably complicated, and bad for your laptop if you get it wrong :)
Thank you for your video! I‘m running my MBP 2018 with the Thunderbolt Display charging via MagSafe to USB-C adapter. Unfortunately these adapters are quite unreliable and become really hot during use. So this is a genius solution for USB-C MacBooks!
@@nivt5262 Yeah I tried one out and I had the exact same experience! It was an awkward angle and length, so it was always tugging on the laptop port too.
Hello Colin. I’ve attempted your mod with a MagSafe 2 to usb dongle from elecjet. However I’ve noticed it gets extremely hot and clicks without it being connected to the MacBook. I was wondering if you’d had any issues with your buck converter being constantly pulling current/getting hot without anything connected. I’m very much considering swapping out my current setup for the pd side of things with what you’ve demonstrated, potentially adhearing the bc to the case with some adhesive thermal pads to act as a big cooler
I tried one of those MagSafe adapter dongles before all of this and I too found it got extremely hot! That’s one of the reasons I pursued this project. Good news is that the PD power module doesn’t get hot at all and doesn’t appear to pull any significant current when it’s not powering anything. 👍
great idea! I'm upgrading my thunderbolt display!
I’ll try it! Thank you
it works perfectly! Thanks buddy
You were able to replicate this modification?
awesome guide, thx.
if I just want to use it for video via thunderbolt, can I do like you did with the adaptor inside and use a thunderbolt 3 extension cable to my mac? leaving the magsafe unplugged inside? you did incredibly well everything, congrats on all the work.
Thank you, I appreciate that! And yes, you could just leave the internal Magsafe connector unplugged.
Thanks a lot Colin for this amazing video!
I currently have an Apple Thunderbolt Display (27 inches) and I wanted to change my current MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015) for a M1 MacBook Air and/or a M2 MacBook Air. However Apple is discouraging users to do that because they say material is not compatible. Apparently users are complaining about flickers and dead pixels appearing (top right). Have you experienced anything like this since you made the cable changes?
If not, I wonder why the team at Apple would be fixing compatibility on M1 MacBook Pro and not fix it on the M1 MacBook Pro. Both computers must be very similar.
I haven't heard about that, but if you have a link please post it! I haven't had any issues at all since doing this conversion. 🤞
I have heard about the flickering and I can confirm I have no issues, maybe an update fixed this?
I have an iMac Mini M1 with an original Mac Thunderbolt Cinema Display 27" and also an Apple 24" LED Cinema Display (Display Port), I use a powered via USB, HDMI to Display Port Adapter.
The iMac M1 Mini will not support 2 x Thunderbolt Displays. They only support 1 x Thunderbolt and 1 x HDMI. -:
Video Support
Simultaneously supports up to two displays:
One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI
Thunderbolt 3 digital video output supports
Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
Thunderbolt 2, DVI and VGA output supported using adapters (sold separately)
HDMI display video output
Support for one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz
DVI output using HDMI to DVI Adapter (sold separately)
However the MacBook Pro M1 will support more depending on M1 chip:
Display Support
Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colours and:
Up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colours (M1 Pro) or Up to three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colours (M1 Max)
Thunderbolt 4 digital video output
Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
VGA, HDMI, DVI and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)
HDMI digital video output
Support for one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz
DVI output using HDMI to DVI Adapter (sold separately)
I am told the M2 chip has same limitations also.
Such a cool upgrade mod!
Thanks for your video.
there's another solution, you can use the thunderbolt 2 connection on the back with a thunderbolt 2 to thunderbolt 3 cable. Easy Peezy. there are also adapters for the magsafe to usb c
Well aware of those. Owned them, tried them, went to all this work to avoid them!
Any reason why you replaced the thunderbolt 2 cable inside the monitor, and not just use the one it had by by plugging the adapter directly to it? Any advantages to that? Amazing video btw, it is very inspiring!
I talked about that a little at the beginning. I had to replace the TB2 cable anyway, and my goal was to match the design concept of the original Thunderbolt Display. Power and data to the laptop with no dongles or adapters, total freedom of movement within the length of the cable(s) to the laptop. Glad you liked it!
@@colindgrant Ok I see. I thought replacing the TB2 cable to a newer would make it faster & more stable :) Thanks for the video
Goddamn, this type of stuff revives electronics so that they dont go to ewaste. Great video. 2 questions though. 1. Did you have to solder anything? on the Charge Module? Am thinking about doing this myself 2. Does it have to be only apple devices? or can it be like AppleTV, Linux, Windows, etc?
This video is pretty specific to the Thunderbolt Display but you can apply the concept and adapters to other devices as well.
Just basic soldering to wire up the USB Power Deliver module.
@@colindgrant Does the 39Ω resistor mimic a signal that a macbook would put out? and also one thing I would change about this video is that I wished you showed how to make the charge module
@@AnzenRyzen Yeah the resistor is a value that the older non USB-C MagSafe system used. Connections are all explained in the video, but I chose not to include the actual soldering since that's a whole other subject!
Seems a little risky when it comes to removing the logic board. But yes, I just might try. My Thunderbolt Cinema Display is the best monitor I've used so far when It comes to picture clarity. Not very ergonomic if you use the standard stand though. Right now I power my MacBook Air M2 with the MagSasfe 3 and connect the Cinema Display with Apples Thunderbolt to USB-C connector. It seems to work really well. When I used my earlier MacBook Air M1 I experienced so much flicker that I discontinued using it and had to replace it with inferior monitors.
Go on, do it! If you trust yourself to say, replace a phone screen, then the logic board in these is easy.
Would it be possible to join the data cable and the power cable into a single output from the monitor?
id imagine you could get a hub to run it that way
@@JustChillingDom Yep, exactly. CalDigit has one. I don't know how to properly combine power and Thunderbolt, could be complicated, and risky to my laptop!
Exactly my thoughts!
willing to sell an PD module already put together? i want to do the same upgrade but using a usbc to magsafe cable for my m2 macbook pro
great project! Really high quality diy! Thanks :-)
I might try this!
....nice
Awesome! Ausgezeichnet!
Wonderful work, can i ask you if can be possible to make only one usb-c cable came out of the monitor, carrying both thunderbolt signal and power?
I would really like to. But between Thunderbolt, USB-C, and Power Delivery standards, I'm just not sure how the power negotiation is supposed to go, and don't want to experiment on my brand new 16" M1 Pro! There are hubs that can do it though. Check out CalDigit.
Awesome work
Thank you!
tested on ios12 as well. so far it's good to use
would there be any way to combine the TB and power into one cable? iirc USB-PD negotiation happens over the power lines themselves so i wonder if the power pins going out could simply be injected into the outgoing cable?
I don't know how to combine USB-PD and Thunderbolt onto a cable electrically. I've looked into it a bit, and it's quite complex. The easiest solution would be to introduce a Thunderbolt 3/4 hub with Power Delivery to do everything over one cable. It's discussed elsewhere in this comment section.
Excellent video - thanks! I too have an "intermittent" display cable and need to replace it and so will use your method. Here are two rather naïve questions. First, since I never use the MagSafe power cord anyway (I easily charge my MacBook Pro with its own charger) I'll just skip that part entirely, and replace the video cable only. So question 1 is - is there anything wrong with that plan? Question 2 is why did you need to do all the voltage conversion in the first place? Are the voltage needs of the new MacBook so different? Why isn't it just a connector change, like for the video? Lastly, I am not sure how to take the existing Magsafe power cord out of the picture - just unplug within the display, or tie it unused on the outside, unused, to the new 3/4 extension cable. OK - now to go out and buy some suction cop and T6 and T10 torx heads. What was the T number for the display frame, BTW? Thanks!
I’ll go in reverse! I don’t remember the tire size for the frame but a small set is worthwhile, in the T5-20 range. If you want to do the internal usb-c conversion you can just leave out the steps I did for the voltage conversion entirely. Remove the umbilical cable and just stuff the TB2 to TB3 converter inside like I did. The voltage conversion was to change from MagSafe 2 to MagSafe 3 which is really just Power Delivery over USB-C, a part of the USB spec. The monitor won’t care that you’re not pulling power from it. Good luck!
@@colindgrant Ah, I see, thanks. The great paradigm changing innovation of having anything: data, input power, output power - anything but analog sound, come over a single cable type must have had _some_ overhead in specs.
@@stevenlord7793 Sorry not following on the "overhead in specs"
I was philosophically referring to the new specs being required of the entire industry to accommodate the upgrade to USB-c, but yes, they were required here too. (I just want to repeat that your walkthrough was super clear!)
@@stevenlord7793 yeah totally. Thunderbolt 3/4 especially has lots of new functions going over USB-C!
nice!!
Thank you, so awesome
Wow
What a wonderful video..!!!
Genius
Wow… very cool and impressive. Way way over my head though. I guess I’ll just keep using all my adaptors.
Honestly this sort of thing seemed way over my head until just recently. I bought a cheap Arduino kit on Amazon, sat down for two weekends in a row and did all the projects, and realized it wasn't nearly as scary as I imagined. I wish I had taken the first steps a long time ago!
@@colindgrant could you link the kit you got? I’d like to enter this arena!
@@sean.sullivan So sorry I missed this question! I bought one of the Elegoo UNO starter kits: www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Tutorial-Controller-Projects/dp/B01D8KOZF4
It’s a shame you can’t get an adapter like Utab’s minidisplay model that supports a power feed, too.
Would it be possible to link both MagSafe and Thunderbolt adaptors to a USB C splitter inside the unit for a single cable option or would you loose TB capabilities?
I agree but loss of TB could be fixed with a Thunderbolt capable mini dock, something like 'belkin-thunderbolt-3-core-dock', connected in the monitor case collecting the thunderbolt and the usb-c power into one cable should work?!!? You could even add a HDMI port to the back of the screen!
Good job 👍🏻
Like miani just made a video about taking apart an iMac and turning it into a 5k monitor. I looked at the hdmi and display port board on the iMac he installed and I don’t see a fan. Do you think a 5k display could continue to be used without a fan? Here’s the video: ruclips.net/video/0VXQu0fAc8s/видео.html
That's a great video. I don't know if a fan is needed or not. The power supply for the Magsafe is probably what gets hot, if anything. I never ever hear my fans turn on, except briefly at startup now and then.
With this being 22 minutes long, I expected it to be a single cable solution... Why not just use the TB adapter for display and proper power brick for power? Same amount of cables, and you get full power charging.
That's what I was thinking or plug the thunderbolt cable into a thunderbolt dock and get power and video through 1 cable.
I have a question, I have a Mac mini m1 and would like to do such a cable upgrade for the Apple Thanderbold Display. Would it be enough to just install a USB-C cable on the Apple Thanderbold display? The MagSafe cable is irrelevant to me. Thank you in advance for your effort!...👋🏻
Sure. The power and data cables are completely independent.
@@colindgrant Thank you for the fast feedback! Then I will swap the original cable for a Thunderbolt cable.
And again, thank you for the information…👍🏻
Man, wow!!! 😮😅😊
Ouch. I bought a MacBook Pro M3 Max, and I want to use my old 27" monitor and my 27" 2015 iMac as monitors. I thought I could buy Thunderbolt to USB-C adaptors and simply press Control 3, but it looks like I'm just putting more junk in the closet & researching cheaper 3rd party monitors.
I mean, you can do just that. In fact that's what I did here.
Thunderbolt 2 is literally mini DP! As u had a dp to hdmi adapter and it worked on my old MacBook air(no longer uses it) and a pc that had a mini dp on the gpu!
You should work for apple's design team vary cool
Amazing video. What if I was lazy and wanted an external dock that took in Thunderbolt 2/Mini-Display port and USB-C power and outputted it all to a single USB-C cable. Does that exist?
There’s an adapter for MagSafe to usbc on Amazon and an adapter from thunderbolt to thunderbolt 3/usbc on apple.
Different goals.
if the type c supplied power then you dont need magsafe 3 connector if using one cable only
You're thinking of USB Power Delivery (USB-PD), Thunderbolt 2 doesn't do that and these are Thunderbolt 2 displays. Only about 15W available for accessories.
I would have to introduce a Thunderbolt 3/4 hub with Power Delivery to do everything over one cable. It's discussed elsewhere in this comment section.
@@colindgrantoh no! Some windows laptops with type c Aren’t PD! They have a charging icon but aren’t PD but thunderbolt 3!
Amazing video, it’s giving me some thoughts of picking up a Thunderbolt Display for my Mac Studio.
Curious, is the MacBook able to control brightness and pass audio to the monitor speakers?
Yes! I can control brightness from the keyboard and both Thunderbolt displays show up as audio output options. I posted a 'short' that shows the brightness control from the keyboard.
@@colindgrant Woo! Thanks for the confirmation, Colin. Just picked up a mint Thunderbolt Display and can’t wait to convert it to USB-C. Owe all my thanks to you and this video.
@@moongu That's awesome!
Here's that short I mentioned. Brightness control demo'd toward the end:
ruclips.net/user/shortsLuoRAwbNCiI
I use 2 TB monitors with my Mac. You also could get around the busted cable by connecting the Mac to the thunderbolt port on the monitor with another cable.
That's a good point!
I just purchase a Mac mini m1 and sales rep told me it was a plug and play with my old 27” Thunderbolt Display is there a quick work around to make this work like adapter of sorts your recommend
@@carlosr.2027 yeah you just need the apple thunderbolt three to thunderbolt 2 adapter.
@@DavidMalcolm awesome much appreciate it , and let me get this straight you are running 2 27” Thunderbolt Display with you Mac mini m1 at full resolution using the Same adapters ?
@@carlosr.2027 I'm running two off a Mac Studio. The Mac mini M1 supports one display over Thunderbolt and one over HDMI. I am not aware of a way for it to power two Thumderbolt displays.
Great tutorial Colin! you could use this LINDY L43246 mini display port to usb-c with power delivery (it's also very cheap) and have only 1 usb-c cable my only problem now it's how to implement in this setup a usb for my mouse because i'm using logitech g pro mouse.
Unfortunately, the Lindy adapter you mentioned won't work with Thunderbolt Displays. It only outputs a video signal over the Display Port connector, and not a full Thunderbolt data stream.
@@colindgrantextractly
Hi would you be able to make this kit. Would like to pay for it
I’m really interested to know what field did you study at college because that’s probably gonna be my field 😁😅
Business, actually! But extra classes in Economics, Agricultural Engineering, and Computer Science. I took as many classes as they would let me. And I worked as an IT admin during college so I had a place to apply what I was learning. After that I made sure to just keep on learning, every single day! I'm not an expert, but I try to remember that all experts start from zero knowledge :)
@@colindgrant That’s amazing thanks 😊
How do I get the VESA mount off of a Thuderbolt display ? Every video shows how to put it on but NO ONE says how to get one off.
On the broken one on the street Tuesday night the glass was gone but the LED display was OK the back with you OK the cables are OK I’d like to see if I can repair it and get it working again.
But I need to get the VESA mount off.
Thunderbolt displays don't come with a VESA mount. The have a tilting stand built in. I added a VESA mount to mine from a brand called Human Centric. Search for "how to remove thunderbolt display stand", there are lots of those.
@@colindgrant The VESA mount is screwed on to the back of it. Looks like a square & I did a video SHOWING it !
@@georgesenda1952 I found your video. It looks like the previous owner attached an Amer VESA kit to it. That's not original, but you can see some pictures of it here: www.amazon.com/Amer-MD179ZM-A-AMR-VESA-Kit/dp/B01BHCEZ3W
@@colindgrant Thanks but HOW do I remove it ? Assuming the display is salvageable.
@@georgesenda1952 Not sure, I've never held one. Looks like there's a head screw on the side. If you can't remove it, then just use it for mounting to a display arm. Removing it will only get you to the hinge that works with the original stand. It's not necessary to replace the LED or glass panel.
Why didn't you just use another T2 cable out of the daisy chain port?
I did...
Why retrofit the magsafe 2 into usb c rather than into usb a and use a USB a to magsafe 3 cable?
You'd save a tb4 port on your laptop and actually make use of the magsafe 3 port. Did I miss something?
Yeah, that's another option. And that would definitely work with the way I converted Magsafe 2 into USB-C PD inside the monitor.
It's a personal preference. I'm reserving my USB-C to Magsafe 3 cable for travel. I could have bought another but they're $50, and I actually like having the USB-C power delivery cable on my desk for temporarily powering other things. The intention with this retrofit was to have a very clean desktop and not plug anything else into the laptop, so I was ok with using up an additional TB4 port but I see your point on that.
@@colindgrant you did a wonderful job. I wish I had the knowledge... And the talent.
Could you have spliced the power and display signal together into one usbc?
Probably not as simple as a splice. With the right electronics, it could work. There are modern hubs that combined Thunderbolt 3/4 and Power delivery onto the same cable, with a single USB-C connector to your computer. I would assume you can plug Thunderbolt 2 into such a hub through the Apple Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter. The Apple adapter does not handle power, just TB signaling conversion. I have not seen a simpler way to combine TB2 and power onto a single USB-C cable.
The USB thunderbolt extension USB cable that you listed in the description from Amazon didn't work on my both Apple Thunderbolt display 27 inches A1407. 😢
Bummer. What length did you use? I'm using a few of the same cable with success, but all shorties.
@@colindgrant it was 2.6 ft.
@@box4aza Hmm, next step I would test without the extension, direct from the adapter to the computer.
Just picked up a second hand Thunderbolt display myself to attempt this mod. I have a few questions tho, why is the charging limited to 45W? I'm pretty sure that the display can deliver up to 85W, which means it shouldn't be supplying 16V but 18V right? The reason why I'm asking is that I'm going to try to add an OWC Thunderbolt Hub inside of the display, to add power delivery (which means only one cable). Most Thunderbolt Hubs are not bus powered, and mostly use 20V power supplies. PD on the hub can deliver up to 60W, which means I need a bit more than 45W right? How would I go about doing that, any tips?
Cool idea! I had the same question as you. The limitation is the voltage of the power supply inside the monitor. Once turned on, is right around 16V.
It's possible that Apple Magsafe connectors pulled high enough current at 16V to supply 85W, not sure.
But the power delivery module I used senses the 16V input and decides to shift to the nearest PD fixed-voltage output level which is 15V. My Macbook senses the charger is offering PD @ 15V, and I think it self-limits the current to 3 amps, netting 45W.
I bet if you installed a boost converter to increase the supply voltage to say, 22V, the charge module would use PD @ 20V, and give you 60W charging.
To be clear that setup would be:
Thunderbolt Display Magsafe Power Supply ->
Resistor+diode to turn it on >
Boost converter (16V in, 20V+ out) ->
Power delivery module ->
USB-C cable offering PD @ 20V
Let me know what you figure out!
@@colindgrant Thanks for the reply! I did some more reading and basically figured out what you just said. 15V indeed has a current limit which makes it usable for 45W only. I'm planning to get a boost converter to power the hub, and I'll keep you posted as soon as I have made any progress. Your resistor & diode setup is definitaly crucial for making this work, so thanks a lot!
@@colindgrant
As promised, an update... I bought a few resistors, an OWC thunderbolt hub and the mentioned Schottky diode. I connected them to the Magsafe output of the PSU, and indeed got 16.5 volts, but even after the diode the voltage was fluctuating quite a lot? I connected a boost converter nontheless, but at that point the power supply started making a clicking noise which didn't sound very healthy, and the voltage dropped to 4 volts...
I did some more reading on magsafe though, and apparently the PSU senses the current draw at 16.5v, and if it exceeds 4.1A the voltage will ramp up to 18.5 volts, or even higher. I've read that there might be contact points on the PSU that switch the voltage for calibration purposes at the factory.
As I'm not too familiar with such complicated electronics I abandoned the project at that point to make sure I don't fry the power supply. I might dig back into it in the future, but my current setup works fine for me, except for the bulky PSU of the thunderbolt hub.
I'm currently running the display into the hub using the thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter, and running the output (with PD) into my macbook, so the goal of running one cable for thunderbolt & charging has been achieved.
I dissasembled the OWC thunderbolt hub, and I can say with certainty it would indeed fit inside the chassis of the display. It would only need a way to run it of the existing magsafe PSU, but I don't have the knowledge/experience to figure that out. Thanks anyway!
@@dogfreak3000 Thanks for the followup! Great info here. That would be super cool if you could stash the TB hub inside the display and power it from the display as well. What input voltage does it need? Can you link me to the OWC hub you bought? Or to pictures of the internals? You ought to make a "What's inside?" type video just showing the internals, that would be super helpful! C'mon, do it ;)
Anyway, I'm going to put that on the project list (but there is a long backlog right now!) Thanks again for following up.
Hi again@@dogfreak3000, I was re-reading your comment about how you read that "the PSU senses the current draw at 16.5v, and if it exceeds 4.1A the voltage will ramp up to 18.5 volts, or even higher". I would very much appreciate it if you could link me to any website that talks about that! Thanks!
So i guess we can't directly connect thunderbolt 3 into the back port? We have to use thunderbolt 2 first and then connect to thunderblot 3 converter?
Correct. Or do what I did in this video internally.
Thanks for this informative video. I have a Mac mini M1 connected to an Apple Thunerbolt Display. So I don't need the power cord. Now the Thundebolt cable seems to give up the ghost (occasional, short-term blackouts). Can I just replace the Thunderbolt cable with your method and leave the connector for the power cable empty?
Yes, you could use this method to put the adapter inside the monitor case and run a USB-C cable down to your Mac Mini. Or you could use the method recommended by @DavidMalcolm above, just buy a TB2 to TB2 cable, plug it into the port on the back of the Thunderbolt display, then coil up your original umbilical cable and ignore it!
@@colindgrant Thank you!
When the display is flickering, why does everyone feel confident that the problems stems from the thunderbolt cable, but not other components like the logic board or the power supply. Thanks for the walkthrough though.
@@leonugraha I had the same skepticism and questions. I can only share my experience:
- With single TBD plugged in using original cables.
- Same symptoms on 2015 MBP w/TB2 and also 2021 MBP M1 w/TB2-3 converter.
- Display would suddenly go fully black (not backlit, as if unpowered), with no obvious cause
- Display stayed black, did not flicker, did not self recover
- Occurred with no physical movement, no particular temperature, no change in peripherals, no identifiable length of time, or pattern of app usage.
- Arriving at my desk in the morning, display would often not wake up.
- Unplugging/replugging the TB2 cable would sometimes bring back display image, sometimes peripherals like iSight camera or built in speaker would come back as well, sometimes not.
- Only reliable recovery method was cycling power on display and rebooting laptop.
- Even while things were working, I could feel heat on the TB2 connector at laptop.
- Easiest test is to unplug the built in TB2 cable, use a standalone TB2 cable plugged into the daisy chain socket on display.
It's an all digital connection, so I think this was an issue of some signaling or voltage threshold being violated. Or perhaps the shielding was broken down and allowing interference. I believe the laptop detected something was out of bounds and just shut it down. I didn't look for logs, but there may be some.
If your display comes back on its own, that may be a different issue.
Colin I saw your video and I am really inspired to do this mod as well. A couple of questions. 1. How aviod being shocked? I am a bit afaid to mod this. 2. Will this moitor work if i just remove the all in one cable and use the out side thunderbolt port? 3. Will this work with a half mod without doing the power delivery usbc?
Just to follow up, yes you can do just power or just data. No need to do both. The safest way to avoid being shocked is to leave the monitor unplugged for a couple weeks before opening it.
I think this mod is awesome! Is there any chance you'd sell a converted buck converter? I'd really appreciate it!
Thanks! I'm not planning to sell anything, but the parts are linked, and it's pretty simple to assemble.
What was the point of removing the old cable if you could just use the adapter at the end?
You must not have watched the video.
Amazing work here mate! I think I have a similar problem to others, but I cannot get my MacBook Pro M1 Pro 14 “ to work with the TB display via the TB2 to TB3 adaptor. For whatever reason, it just won’t fire up the TB display. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the compliment! As for your issue I would try to verify operation on an older laptop with Thunderbolt 2. Make sure it's turning on as expected, and let it run for at least 24 hours, through a sleep cycle, and make sure it wakes up without issue. Lots of people have trouble with these monitors just due to the cable, or something wrong inside the monitor itself. I would just double-check all of that before suspecting anything to do with the TB2 to TB3 adapter or the M1 laptop. Maybe you've already done that.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the various M1 laptops have different limitations on the external displays that can be connected. So another test is to connect a non-Thunderbolt display to your M1 laptop and see if it works.
Hopefully one of those paths helps you find the root cause.
Is it definitely a Thunderbolt Display or is it the LED Cinema Display? The latter has a Display Port interface and would require and adapter to connect via HDMI port on the Mac.
@@symosys Yes, good point here.
@@symosys Hey. any luck sorting out your display yet?
great video, now do you think you could create a switch to use our thunderbolts with two computers?? I've been looking everywhere and it doesn't exist. without having to constantly plug and unplug our Macs. It's the same for the new studio and xdr pros.. all kvm switches are hdmi, display port, but NONE work with this thunderbolt 2 or 3. I can't be the only one who wants this! You seem capable of such a thing!! liked and subbed by the way!
Also could you link the usb-c thunderbolt capable extension cord you're using??
Hi@@sean.sullivan, sorry I missed your comment. The extension cable is linked in the description.
As far as a KVM, I'm guessing the reason you're not finding them is that KVMs usually switch a pure video signal (well, in addition to keyboard and mouse). But Thunderbolt is a general data transport standard. It's kind of like a ferry, and video/audio/USB/ethernet are the cars that can ride on the ferry. They can drive point to point on their own, but in order to ride the Thunderbolt ferry, you have to have a ferry terminal at either end. So in order to have a KVM that acted like a ferry terminal for Thunderbolt, it would need extra chips and licensing, and that would drive up cost.
I don't know of a way to connect two Thunderbolt video sources (computers) to a single Thunderbolt display.
The nearest thing I can think of is to us a non-Thunderbolt HDMI display, and use Thunderbolt to HDMI dongles on each computer's output. I know that's not what you're hoping to hear!
This video is better than watching Tom Cruise in _TopGun II_
Love this stuff, wholly sh**
As a big Top Gun fan, that is the best compliment you could have given. Thanks!
Hi Colin, Can i check if your setup can do brightness control using "Ctrl + F1/F2" keyboard shortcut?
I am having an M1 iMac and connect to 24" LED Cinema Display. I am unable to control the display brightness using this keyboard shortcut, but am able to do so with my Intel 2015 MBP.
Hence, I am using a 3rd party app known as MonitorControl on my M1 iMac to control the brightness.
It works on my M1 Mac using Control (^) + F1/F2...most of the time. I have noticed that sometimes after resuming from sleep, one or both of the external monitors will not respond to the keyboard shortcut. When this happens, I can go to Displays settings and see that the brightness slider is missing there as well. The fix is to unplug monitor power for 20+ seconds, then unplug/re-plug the Thunderbolt cable. Definitely non-ideal.
Really cool solution and I was able to take this on myself thanks to your great video! I am having one issue. The PD module seems to work just fine with my MBP M1 2021, charging at 45W. However when I use with a similar vintage MB Air, the charging is intermittent. This is indicated through the connection chime and the battery icon. Any ideas what might be going on? I did try different USB C cables and was able to replicate the issue with a variety of cables.
Ahh, sorry to hear that! I hoped it would be a universal solution for Macs with USB-C charging. I will think on it but I don't have any ideas off the top of my head.
had the same intermittent charging with my MBP M1max 2021 with exact wiring and components as above
Interesting video. Thanks. Is there a reason not to just use two adapters at the end of the OEM cable? Thunderbolt to USB C, and Magsafe to USB C?
I tried that first and it was awful. The adapters are bulky, the Magsafe adapter overheats and connection light becomes useless, plus there is lots of stress placed on the USB-C ports. It defeated the best feature of the Thunderbolt display to me - a clean desktop. So like I say in the video, my goal was to get that back with my new Mac.
All I want to do is figure out a way to use the firewire and thunderbolt ports to add a few more USB ports. Anyone have a simple solution like a chord that plugs into the firewire or thunderbolt ports and creates a dock?
use a TB3 dock to inject power and it will add a handful of highspeed ports as well, i'm using a kingston sd5200t
@ponsoldt I bought a used Belkin TB2 hub to do that.
Great video! What monitor arm did you use to hold up the displays?
Hi would like to know that as well 😃
It's a Vivo dual monitor arm. The same model is sold by a few manufacturers under different model numbers. It's decent but dual 27" screens is pushing it on any of the common arms out there. I've tried 6-8 different models and I like this one the best because it keeps the screens in the same orientation relative to each other.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LM68CSP
@@colindgrant thanks!!!
como hago esa adptacion en uno de 24 si no tiene ese cable
Could you replace the thunderbolt 2 port on the logic board with USB-C rather than relying on the adapter?
The adapter translates TB2 to TB3 in addition to adapting the physical connector.
I have never seen anyone put a meter clips in to an unplugged Laptop adapter or over the pc Board to see if voltage residue is still there
I'm not sure what point you are trying to make...
Hi, nice video! if i would like to do the same, would i be able to connect my original usb-c to magsafe instead for charging ? that would free up one usb-c port and it would look even more authentic.. only problem i have is that converter and that resister and so on, not sure i can pull that of.. but Damm that would be a killer mod, instead of that dongle hell im running now
The USB-C to Magsafe 3 cable works in other USB-C power supplies. So it should work in the USB-C power delivery module I show in this video. But you will still have to do the modifications I showed to get the Thunderbolt Display to supply power to the module. Good luck getting out of dongle hell!
so without that 39.4k resistor this wont work? Its not on your parts list in the description
Thanks for pointing that out! I'll add it. Yes, you must have the resistor in order to get the Magsafe power supply in the monitor to supply full voltage.
which mounts are those? my vesa mount can't handle the weight of just one Thunderbolt Display atm.
I honestly can't remember, but it's mentioned multiple places in this comment section.
What about taking a new MagSafe 3 to USB-C from Apple and hacking the USB-C side and soldering it to the inside of the Thunderbolt Display. It's already 85 watts. You get to use MagSafe 3, you get back a USB-C/Thunderbolt port on your MBP.
I just got a 16" MBP M1 Pro, bought a MagSafe 1/2 adapter to USB-C, I only get 45 watts, plenty to keep the MBP charged since it sips power, but I would prefer to use MagSafe and get back a port.
There are a couple things that make that difficult:
1) Cost; go check out what Apple wants for Magsafe 3 cables and chargers!
2) The MS3 cable itself is USB-C based, but it needs USB-C Power Delivery negotiation so hacking off and directly soldering isn't an option.
3) The TB Display only has so much power available. I've read 'up to 85W', but it's a 16V system, so that would be over 5A and I don't think it can actually supply that much.
But what you could do is install the USB-C PD module I showed, and simply plug a Magsafe3 cable into the USB-C port. You're right, that would give one of your USB-C/TB ports back.
At the time I did this the MS3 cables were in short supply, and only available from Apple. I haven't checked recently. But at the time I wanted to keep mine for travel.
@@colindgrant thank you for the reply. When I get a chance, I'm gonna do this retrofit. I wish someone would make a plug n play solution, but I do know how to solder. Just gonna have to get around to it eventually.
I’m still running an older MacBook Pro and need to adapt this to an HDMI VIDEO station with a new USB C laptop using a KVM switch. Video is my issue. Can I swap the video cable like you did, but terminate it in HDMI from USB C?
I'll probably get some specifics wrong here, but let me try and answer off the top of my head...
It gets really confusing because the names of connectors and transport standards are used interchangeably.
USB-C is a connector, used for newer transports like USB 3 and 4, and Thunderbolt 3 and 4. But it is backwards compatible with the older versions too.
DisplayPort is a connector that originally carried signals very similar to HDMI. It already existed when it was chosen as the connector for Thunderbolt 1 and 2 transports.
HDMI is a transport AND a connector for digital audio and video and maybe some security stuff. And it is backwards compatible with DVI, which is video only.
The Thunderbolt display is not an HDMI device. It connects to a Thunderbolt capable computer and makes use of the full Thunderbolt transport standard.
Video and audio and ethernet and USB data are some of the 'cars' on the Thunderbolt 'ferry', if you will. Yes, HDMI is a car that can drive on its own, between your DVD player and TV for instance, but it can't get on a ferry unless there is a terminal on either end.
My conversion still connects through the Thunderbolt transport. It's just that the adapter from Apple, stuffed inside the display, does two things: 1) it converts the Thunderbolt transport version from TB2 (display) to TB3 (computer), and 2) it coverts the connector from DisplayPort to USB-C.
From your question I can't tell if you are using a Thunderbolt Display at all. If you are, then you can't get around the fact that it must be connected to a Thunderbolt computer, regardless of the connector.
But Thunderbolt displays, and Thunderbolt computers can *output* video to non-Thunderbolt devices. Your older Macbook probably has a Thunderbolt 2 port, using the DisplayPort connector. And you can get a dongle to convert DisplayPort to HDMI. But it's just an output.
If you're trying to connect two computers to a KVM switch, and you just need to output video from your older MacBook to an HDMI input port on the KVM, then you should be good with an adapter dongle. But my older 2015 MBP also had a HDMI port, so I would just use that.
Does it has to be apple cable or it can be some other companies cheaper and more secure cable (like Cablecc)?
It just has to be a 60W+ USB-C compliant cable. Nothing special. There are tougher cables, but my experience Apple cables are reliably compliant, so it's what I reach for. It didn't matter so much before, but in the age of USB-C, there are a lot more requirements of the cable, and many cables simply don't meet them.
I followed the steps (video only - I simply unplugged the MagSafe) but now, with display plugged in, I get no video nor can I hear the display fan come on. I.e. The MacBook pro shows _no_ second display. I really don't know if anything is coming out of the 40 Gbps 240 W USBc cord at all. (I opened the display back up and rechecked that all the plugs seemed snugly in place. When lifting and closing the LCD panel, there are 4 connecters to deal with - A black plastic cable bus, the screwed-in ground wire, a 6-pin connect and a weird long flat connector (w/ no pins?). The long one is the only one that never felt like it connected tightly. It only went in label-down. For diagnostics, I have only an old analog multimeter.
Might you have any trouble-shooting ideas? Thanks -SL
Here is my cautionary tale: My unit was 10 years old, and after I hot-glued into place the new cable and went to screw-down the video board, I tightened the screws too much, and three of the tiny brittle plastic towers supporting the screw sockets simply disintegrated, leaving the sockets unusable and the video board poorly reattached. Perhaps for that reason the monitor no longer worked. For lack of diagnostic equipment and knowledge, I abandoned the unit for parts. (I note that a less arduous fix is to buy a used cable like the original as a replacement, and live with the Thunderbolt 2->3 adaptor being outside the case, and just ignore the magsafe power cord).
Sorry to hear about your troubles! That's a bummer.
Not at this time, but thanks for your interest.
i want to use it on imac as second monitor? can you guide me how? my TB display power cable is not working it flickers the display so i am thinking to do this modification and power up TB display again? any thoughts on this?
Sounds like you just need a new cable, you don't need anything in this video. Apple publishes articles about how to use an iMac as a display. I've never done it.
Cool project from technical standpoint.
BUT the result is not so impressive. Nothing I would like to have on my desktop. Even the Apple Cinema Displays might be good enough for many use cases.
Your comment doesn't make sense. The Cinema Displays are not compatible with this laptop. This is video about Thunderbolt connectivity. If you don't need that, then I'm not sure why you watched and commented.
It cool video
Im using a Macbook pro 2017 and Thunderbolt display 27”
When using Mac os Ventura every thing is ok, no issue
But when i running windows 11 install by bootcamp, Thunderbolt display not working
Please help me, thanks you
You would need Thunderbolt drivers for Windows. Maybe check to see if Intel offers those? I'm not sure.