So, I just purchased a USB 2.0 Sharing Switch, along with a Thunderbolt docking station. My problem is that the USB B to C cables included with the switch will not work with the two MacBook Pros I want to connect to. My work Macbook is a new model featuring the M3 chip and has Thunderbolt 4 ports. My personal Macbook is an older model, featuring the M1 chip and has two Thunderbolt 3 ports. How can I connect these machines to the switch?
Hi there,
Thank you for contacting Plugable, and welcome to the community!
Unfortunately, the USB2-SWITCH2 is not compatible with Thunderbolt docking stations. This switch only supports data passthrough. For Thunderbolt docking stations, you will need to be connected directly to the Thunderbolt host port.
The number of external displays you can connect through a Thunderbolt docking station varies greatly depending on the series of Apple silicon in your system.
For example, your personal MacBook with the base M1 chipset can only support one external display, and the only way to bypass this would be with a DisplayLink docking station. This is also the case with base M3 unless you close the lid and are running macOS Sonoma 14.6 or later, as mentioned in this Apple article https://support.apple.com/en-ca/117373
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Adi
Plugable Technologies
Thanks very much for your quick response. Ok, so if your branded switch won’t work with two Thunderbolt Macbooks, ahow about a third-party switch like this one?
This looks like what I need, but I’m curious if Plugable has an opinion or suggestion.
Thanks again!
Hi there,
The product description states that it can support and share a Thunderbolt 4 docking station. However, the link rate supported is 20Gbps, whereas the link rate for Thunderbolt 4 is 40Gbps. I don’t suspect this to be a huge issue in most instances, but it could be problematic if that higher bandwidth is required or you plan on using NVMe drives.
Another note is that you will be limited to a single display via Thunderbolt 3. This is the direct phrasing from the listing: When connecting the USB-C switch to a Thunderbolt 3 laptop, dock, or monitor, it will support only ONE display with a max resolution of 4K@60Hz.
While I cannot outright recommend it as this is not a device we have tested with our hardware, it’s certainly worth trying out if this is a critical need for your setup. Please also keep in mind the limitation of Apple silicon I mentioned earlier, as that will still apply.
We do not currently have a USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 switch available, and unfortunately, I do not have any third-party options I can recommend.
If you get the Cable Matters solution, let us know if it works with our Thunderbolt 4 docking station. Others within the community may be looking for a similar solution.
Thank you,
Adi
Plugable Technologies
So, to follow up… it works!
A few notes:
- The switch comes with two cables, be sure to use them. Normal Thunderbolt cables will not work with this switch.
- The lag time when switching can be a few seconds, I’m assuming that’s due to the cabling, but I’m not sure.
Thanks for all of your help! Your docking station works like a champ! I highly recommend it:
Hi there,
Thank you so much for following up. I am glad everything worked out, and our docking station works as intended through this adapter!
Thank you,
Adi
Plugable Technologies