8 ms·

I've gotten myself into a stupid situation where I have purchased something like 4 adapters that don't accomplish what I thought they would when I bought them.

• sfifs 10y ago
  And I suppose Apple has also made a healthy profit, either directly or through licensing on each of the purchases?
  • evilduck 10y ago
    Apple receives licensing fees on USB Type C?
  • deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  • Bud 10y ago
    You suppose wrongly. It's clear from context that the user wasn't buying Apple adapters, and no, Apple doesn't get any licensing fees here either.
    • floatrock 10y ago
      I get that the chinese manufacturers reverse-engineer everything, but you're saying that you can use "thunderbolt" on your packaging without paying some licensing fee to apple? I mean, a bunch that just have the no-name plastic-bag packaging probably slip by on Amazon, but I would assume the lawyers wouldn't let you brand your cable "thunderbolt" without some official licensing fee process.
      • organsnyder 10y ago
        Apple doesn't own Thunderbolt: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/trademarks/thunderbolt.html http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/trademarks/thunderbol...
        • makomk 10y ago
          Apple does however control which Thunderbolt devices work with Apple hardware and software. Which means, for example, that Thunderbolt 3 hardware released prior to the launch of the new Macbook Pro is effectively Windows-only: http://plugable.com/thunderbolt-3 http://plugable.com/thunderbolt-3 This appears to be an entirely artificial software block done to force manufacturers to go through their certification program and presumably give then a cut; there's a hack out there that bypasses it.
          • edwinjm 10y ago
            That's not true. First, for example Dell's dock works fine with the Mac, second the chip is not Apple's but from Texas Instruments and the non functioning devices are not compatible with this chip. So Apple blocks nothing and devices don't have to go through any Apple certification program.
            • canuckintime 10y ago
              But these devices work with the new MBP in Bootcamp/Windows just not in Sierra...
          • Bud 10y ago
            >presumably give them a cut. You just made this up. As already clarified in this thread, Apple doesn't own Thunderbolt and Apple gets zero (0) licensing fees. There is no "cut".
            • gurkendoktor 10y ago
              Apple doesn't own Bluetooth either and yet they have strict control over which accessories (gamepads) can be used with iOS and charge for the privilege. Headphones with the old 3.5mm jack are also available in more expensive variants with the MFi certification. Even when there's no money in it, Apple uses whitelists in some places, like which SSDs get TRIM and which displays work and get the HiDPI checkbox: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587 Who owns a standard doesn't seem to matter at this point.
• Bud 10y ago
  You can't expect an off-brand USB-C adapter to be able to fully support DisplayPort. USB-C does not natively contain DisplayPort. Also, don't daisy-chain adapters when you don't have to. Use a USB-C to HDMI adapter. Such as this one: http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter?afid=p238%7Cs3kpSGqXc-dc_mtid_1870765e38482_pcrid_52243316890_&cid=aos-us-kwgo-pla-btb--slid--product-MJ1K2AM/A http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av...
  • bastawhiz 10y ago
    Herein lies the problem. Consumers don't understand or care why these things don't work, they just don't and it's frustrating. "I bought the adapter and plugs in, why doesn't it turn on?" I shouldn't need to explain to my dad why there are two indistinguishable plugs that follow different standards where one works and one doesn't.
    • myowncrapulence 10y ago
      "We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works." -Douglas Adams
  • phil21 10y ago
    This is poor advice. I have that exact adapter, and it fails to work with >50% of the HDMI devices (monitors, TVs, projectors) in our office. This is kind of the point. I have to carry this, plus an offbrand HDMI adapter to hope to have greater than 50% chances of it working. As far as I'm aware there is no reliable USB-C -> HDMI adapter on the market that works with the MBP 2016. If there is another someone knows about, I'd be happy to buy one for testing and let folks know the results.
    • logicallee 10y ago
      Quick question! If we step back from the thunderbolt/displayport/displayport++/usb-c, distinction, which you use on the left-hand side of your arrow... when you wrote: >"As far as I'm aware there is no reliable USB-C -> HDMI adapter on the market that works with the MBP 2016" , do you exactly mean the broader statement (I've reworded what I thought you mean) : >"As far as I am aware there is nothing that plugs into a MBP 2016 that gives a reliable HDMI port that I can connect with a simple HDMI cable to any output device that takes HDMI (screens/projectors/TV's/etc)"? Is that what you meant? In other words, there is nothing you can carry around, together with an HDMI cable, that let's you plug the MBP 2016 into anything from a TV to a screen to a projector etc (as long as they take an HDMI input) without a chance that it won't work?
• phil21 10y ago
  I found a USB-C -> HDMI -> DVI-D -> monitor works for that situation. But the HDMI adapter matters. Some Dell adapters we had laying around the office are what worked for me here, but it was flakey (plug in multiple times - plug in multiple monitors in the correct order). If your monitor supports Displayport then that is the route you want to use. The MBP 2016 supports USB-C displayport alternate mode, and quality cables exist. This is pretty much bulletproof if it's an option to you. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EZH7CKO/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EZH7CKO/ are the cables I bought since they were available next-day, but Monoprice also makes a quality cable. http://blog.fosketts.net/2016/10/30/2016-macbook-pro-usb-cthunderbolt-survival-guide/ http://blog.fosketts.net/2016/10/30/2016-macbook-pro-usb-cth... is also a great resource to get started, if you haven't seen it yet.
  • seanp2k2 10y ago
    http://plugable.com/thunderbolt-3/ http://plugable.com/thunderbolt-3/ also has some good info. Apparently there are TB3 adapters which don't work with tbMBPs. All I want is a single TB3 plug that powers my laptop and hooks up 2x4k displays at 60hz. A USB port or 3 would also be nice. Apparently this does not (can not?) exist. From the Pluggable site: "Connect two uncompressed 4K 60Hz (4096 x 2160) displays (one via a DisplayPort++ port and the other via the 2nd USB-C port)" Why can't I just have two real DP++ ports on the dock? They do make one, but it's windows-only: Thunderbolt 3 DisplayPort Dual-Display Adapter for Windows (Plugable TBT3-DP2X) Is there something about the new MBPs which prevents them from sending 2 HDMI or DP signals out over a single TB3 port? It seems like a huge step backward to now require a network of dongles, adapters, docks, and special cables just to replicate ports which other normal laptops have.
• amluto 10y ago
  Hah, you didn't get the specs quite right. That's: USB-C to DisplayPort -> DisplayPort++ to HDMI But a DP++ device in a non-++ port won't work, and I'm not sure how anyone is supposed to know this. Anyway, Google sells a bunch of high-quality adapters for about half the price of Apple's.
  • logicallee 10y ago
    Googling displayport++ returns a bunch of confusing pages - can you summarize what the ++ signifies in your own words and with some examples?
    • alanh 10y ago
      As an owner of a Mac Mini from 5 or 6 years ago, I am fairly confident in guessing that this refers to what Apple calls “Mini DisplayPort with Audio”. My Mac Mini can use a Mini DP to HDMI adapter just fine — but it won’t include audio. Newer Mac Minis do support audio over Mini DP.
      • deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
      • logicallee 10y ago
        >As an owner of a Mac Mini from 5 or 6 years ago, I am fairly confident in guessing that this refers to what Apple calls “Mini DisplayPort with Audio”. My Mac Mini can use a Mini DP to HDMI adapter just fine — but it won’t include audio. Newer Mac Minis do support audio over Mini DP. your sibling comment said something totally different... (no mention of audio.)
    • JoshTriplett 10y ago
      DisplayPort++ means a DisplayPort port that can also use a passive DP-to-HDMI or DP-to-DVI adapter, such as a DP-to-HDMI cable. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort#DisplayPort.2B.2B https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort#DisplayPort.2B.2B The graphics chipset will actually detect this and handle it as though you hooked up an HDMI cable.
• spilk 10y ago
  I think the main source of the confusion is that the connector is called USB-C, but devices that use the connector may not be USB devices at all, since they can fully expect to only be used with devices that support a specific alternate mode (e.g. Thunderbolt). Yes, they all have to support USB at some level to negotiate the alternate mode (i'm not sure if for USB-C this is a passive signaling like sense resistors or something active like an authentication chip), but devices don't have to fall back to USB data modes at all if they don't want to. If they had called the connector something distinct, like for example "Omnibus", then you could additionally specify the signalling required to make it work. So you could sell a device as being "USB via Omnibus plug", or "Displayport via Omnibus plug". Maybe even come up with little icons for each mode and place them on the host computers and peripherals to help people figure out what is going to work. Really just anything more than what they've done currently would be useful.
  • pyrophane 10y ago
    Yea, it used to be generally true that "if you can connect them with a cable, they will be compatible." Ports were single-use, and if two ports weren't compatible, then they would be physically incompatible. If you could get a cable to connect two different ports, they would probably be compatible because who would make the cable otherwise, right? Now we have something like your "omnibus" port in USB-C, so you have potential incompatibility at the port level and at the cable level, and no good way to tell what will work and what won't. The good news is you only have one port, but the bad news is you don't really only have one port.
    • realityking 10y ago
      To be fair, that already hasn't been case with Thunderbolt 1 and 2 which reused the Mini DisplayPort.
      • gurkendoktor 10y ago
        True. We have a mixture of Apple's Thunderbolt and Mini-DP displays at work and it confuses the hell out of our Windows users. Some adapters/docking stations work, some don't.
• Hermel 10y ago
  Also, the following does not work: USB-C to HDMI -> HDMI to VGA -> Monitor This forced me to buy a separate "USB-C to VGA" adapter. But with that, I cannot connect my USD laserpointer any more. It's a mess.
  • beojan 10y ago
    That may be because the HDMI to VGA adapter either doesn't work in general (there are so many cheap adapters on Amazon, and HDMI to VGA requires active circuitry, that I'd expect some of them to be fakes) or its pulling too much power over the HDMI port. I wouldn't trust any HDMI to VGA adapter that doesn't require external power. Also, why does your laser pointer need to be connected to your laptop. If you mean USB presentation remote, you need more than one USB port.
• Tepix 10y ago
  To be fair, I'm facing the same issue with a Dell XPS 13 9350 i bought instead of the new MacBook Pro: I want to connect it to a 4k monitor at 60Hz via DP or HDMI 2.0. You have to find out how DisplayPort is done on the TB3 port (with USB-C plug) to know which adapter will work. The safest way seems to be to read Amazon reviews. Thanks Amazon reviewers!
  • lcbiazon 10y ago
    I have the same problem, but since I don't have Amazon here I'm testing different cheap adapters from aliexpress. No luck so far.