How Long Can Thunderbolt 3 Cable Be?

Active Thunderbolt 3 cables support Thunderbolt at 40Gbps data transfer at lengths of up to 2m. Optical cables are targeted later, with lengths of up to 60m. Passive lower cost cables are only capable of 20Gbps data transfer at 1m or 2m lengths, but can achieve the full 40Gbps at a shorter cable length of 0.5m.

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How long can you get a Thunderbolt 3 cable?

Optical Thunderbolt 3 Cables Begin Rolling Out in Lengths Up to 50 Meters. The Thunderbolt 3 standard has been available for roughly four years now, but cable lengths have so far generally been limited to a couple of meters due to signal degradation over long distances of copper wiring.

Does Thunderbolt 3 cable length affect speed?

Thunderbolt 3 runs longer than 18-inches can be passive or active. The passive ones have lower speed, with the max data rate hitting about 20Gbit/second at two meters of cable length.Passive cables maintain USB 3.1 type-C compatibility. Active ones do not.

Are longer Thunderbolt 3 cables slower?

Passive Thunderbolt 3 cables are cheaper to make, and are slower at longer lengths. That’s why you oftentimes see 0.5 meter cables bundled with Thunderbolt 3 docks, hubs, eGPUs, etc.

How long can a thunderbolt 4 cable be?

The Cable Matters Thunderbolt™ 4 Cable – 6.6 Feet combines the latest in Thunderbolt technology with a repeater chipset to push the length limits of the latest Thunderbolt standard. Existing passive cables lack protection from signal degradation at longer distances and typically max out at around 0.8 meters/2.6 feet.

What is the longest Thunderbolt cable?

The maximum length of Thunderbolt cable that can be used with a Clarett/Red Range interface is 3 meters (9.8 ft) when using a copper cable. Optical Thunderbolt cables can also be used up to 100 meters (328ft) in length.

How do I extend my Thunderbolt 3 cable?

To extend the cable-distance between display and laptop: Use a Thunderbolt (2) male to male cable from Thunderbolt slot on Apple Thunderbolt Display to MacBook Pro (using the T2-3 adapter). The Thunderbolt cable attached to the display can then be used to power my TB2 sound card.

Why is Thunderbolt 3 cable so expensive?

The first reason comes down to length, as cables like these tend to get much more expensive the longer they are but still promising support for the maximum 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 rate.The 2 meter cable is also braided, which means that it’s more durable and less likely to tangle, so that increases the price further.

How far can you run Thunderbolt?

Thunderbolt (interface)

Production history
Produced Since 24 February 2011
Superseded IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
General specifications
Length Maximums: 3 meters (10 feet) (copper) 60 meters (200 feet) (optical)

Why are Thunderbolt cables so short?

Because Thunderbolt and USB cables are both a power cable and signal (file transfer) cable, the longer they are the more issues you would have, particularly lag, causing very slow transfer. So old school with USB was no longer than 16 ft (5m), which was usually a 6 ft (2m) cable with a 10 ft (3m) extension.

What is the fastest Thunderbolt cable?

Speed. OWC Thunderbolt 3 cables are available in models supporting data speeds up to 40Gb/s. That’s twice as fast as Thunderbolt 2 and 4x faster than USB 3.1 Gen 2.

How long can a USB C Thunderbolt cable be?

No, in fact, there are two types of Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) cables, passive and active. Passive cables cost less and can reach up to 40 Gb/s data transfer if the length is 0.5m or less and 20 Gb/s if over 0.5m. Active cables can reach up to 40 Gb/s data transfer with a length of up to 2m.

Why are Thunderbolt 2 cables so expensive?

Thunderbolt is expensive because of two reasons: Licensing fees required by Intel (initially co-developed with Apple but Intel gained all rights in 2012) Technical requirement of having a Thunderbolt controller module on both the host and peripheral device.

Can I use a Thunderbolt 3 cable with Thunderbolt 4?

Thunderbolt 3 capable devices can be interconnected using a Thunderbolt 4 cable. Since Thunderbolt cables are backward compatible, users can expect Thunderbolt 3 performance from this connection.

Are Thunderbolt 3 and 4 the same?

So Thunderbolt 4 standardises Thunderbolt 3 for all computer users. It’s backwards compatible, but buying Thunderbolt 4 devices will also future-proof your setup. So if your Mac has “just” Thunderbolt 3, don’t worry.

Can I plug a Thunderbolt 3 cable into a thunderbolt 4 port?

Thunderbolt™ devices.
Thunderbolt™ 3 devices and cables are compatible with Thunderbolt 4 ports. Older Thunderbolt devices will work too, but require an adapter.

What is a Thunderbolt 3 active cable?

StarTech.com Thunderbolt 3 Cable – 6 ft / 2m – 4K 60Hz – 40Gbps – USB C to USB C Cable – Thunderbolt 3 USB Type C Charger (TBLT3MM2MA) 4.6 out of 5 stars 651. $68. 22 $109.99. Get it as soon as Tue, Nov 30.

What is the longest Thunderbolt 2 cable?

Product Specifications

Cable Length 3.3 feet feet
Color Black
Compatible Devices Laptop , Monitor , Personal Computer
Connector Type Thunderbolt 2
Data Transfer Rate 10.0 gigabits_per_second

Can I extend a USB C hub?

UGREEN USB-C extension cord is designed for extending the connection between USB-C devices such as USB C Hub, USB C multiport adapter, Nintendo Switch, MacBook Pro 2016, 2017, Galaxy S9 Plus, S8, S8 Plus, Google Pixel 2 XL, it can acess hard-to-reach place or extend the short cable, which can also protect the USB-C

Can Thunderbolt be extended?

Is There extension cable available? Yes and no. You can extend USB Type C which is compatible with Thunderbolt 3 connection. Instead of 40Gb/s bandwidth you will get 10Gb/s (or 5Gb/s with USB3.

Is Thunderbolt going away?

You see, it turns out that even though Apple collaborated on the design of Thunderbolt, it’s actually an Intel thing, so naturally, as Apple abandoned Intel CPUs in its Macs, many are wondering if Thunderbolt will be a casualty of that change.