What kind of firewire port on macbook pro

With the USB-C shape allowing for cords to be inserted in any orientation, Thunderbolt 3 ports are incredibly versatile in what can be plugged into them, and how they can be plugged in. To access the many uses of the Thunderbolt 3 port, you will likely need several kinds of adapters or even specialized Thunderbolt 3 hubs. But at least with those and the right cords, you can use basically anything with these Macs!

The only other port on these MacBook models is the 3. It also connects built-in microphones on headphones and earbuds as well. With the same shape as the Mini DisplayPort, and supporting Mini DisplayPort video output, Thunderbolt 2 took the form factor a lot further by supporting 4K video streaming and writing 4K video to a disk while the video streamed.

For these reasons, Thunderbolt 2 is best known for connecting external monitors and cameras to a MacBook. But the port also supports external hard drives and other storage devices with faster speeds than USB, FireWire, and Thunderbolt 1 ports.

It also allowed iPhones, iPads, and iPods to connect to a MacBook for charging and data transfer or management.

It can power some small microphones and USB accessories as well. But despite this, and the speed issue, it was a major port on most MacBooks and Apple computers for a long time! A converter or adapter would need to be used for inserting miniSD cards into here. HDMI ports were designed to allow computers to stream audio and visual content to external displays. But with the port on all MacBooks until , you can tell it worked well for a really long time.

Like Thunderbolt 2, the original Thunderbolt ports replaced the older Mini DisplayPorts, and therefore mostly connected video output devices. While Thunderbolt 2 goes up to 20Gbps, Thunderbolt 1 only goes to 10Gbps, so data transfer with it is just a bit slower.

The Gigabit Ethernet port allows a MacBook to connect directly to a router, modem, or wall jack to access the internet. Using an Ethernet cable in this port, instead of Wi-Fi, can make the internet run faster on your MacBook.

You can connect external displays and other devices that connect using a Thunderbolt 4 cable, Thunderbolt 3 cable, or USB-C cable. If you have a device that doesn't connect to this port, you can use an adapter to connect it. You can connect a single external display and other devices that connect using either a Thunderbolt 3 cable or USB-C cable. To connect a display, use either of the ports with the Thunderbolt symbol. Use these ports with displays and other devices that connect using either a Thunderbolt 3 cable or USB-C cable.

You can also connect a USB-C power adapter and cable to charge your notebook computer. If your Mac notebook or desktop computer has more than one port like this, each port supports Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C. To connect an external display, use either of the ports with the Thunderbolt symbol. Use Ethernet with networks and devices that connect using an Ethernet RJ45 cable. On some iMac models, the Ethernet port is located on the computer's power adapter. If your power adapter doesn't have an Ethernet port, you can use an Ethernet adapter.

Use Audio-Out — or — with headphones, speakers, and other audio-output devices that connect using an audio cable that has a 3. Tom Nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for Other World Computing,and others.

Tom is also president of Coyote Moon, Inc. Use this type of adapter to connect flash drives, cameras, printers, or other standard USB devices to your Mac. You can even use this adapter to connect to your iPhone or iPad, although recent models require a Lightning to USB adapter. One note about these adapters: the speed is limited to 5 Gbps.

If you want to connect a USB 3. If you're looking for an adapter to handle a 4K or 5K display at 60 Hz, you need an adapter that supports DisplayPort connectivity. This connector requires macOS Mojave These adapters tend to be limited to p.

Once again, for a higher resolution, look to the DisplayPort adapters. This cable can support 5K video at 60 Hz with multichannel digital surround sound. A Thunderbolt 3 to USB adapter can work with the Lightning to USB adapter you may already have for your iPhone, but it may feel awkward to use two adapters to make a single connection.

The fewer connectors and adapters in line, the less chance there is for failure. This Apple adapter also works for connecting older Thunderbolt 2 Macs to Thunderbolt 3 peripherals, but before you say yippee and run out to buy an adapter and a newfangled Thunderbolt 3 device, make sure the Thunderbolt 3 peripheral works with a Thunderbolt 2 Mac.

The Thunderbolt 3 specification says it's backward-compatible with the older Thunderbolt 2, but more than one manufacturer warns that its Thunderbolt 3 peripherals are not compatible with Thunderbolt 2. If you need to connect a FireWire device to a Mac using the Thunderbolt 3 port, then you're probably in the market for an Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter. It connects to the Mac and gives you a FireWire port with 7 watts to run bus-powered peripherals.

This adapter requires OS X When you're shopping for a Firewire adapter, get the right adapter Thunderbolt 3 in this case because previous generations of adapters are not the same.

It can also be used for daisy-chaining one Thunderbolt 3 peripheral to another. Don't be fooled by cables that have a USB-C connector at each end; this alone doesn't signify that the cable is a Thunderbolt 3 cable.

You can tell the two types of similar-looking cables apart by examining the USB-C connector; you should see a single lightning bolt logo on Thunderbolt cables. You can say this is the one port to rule them all, and it means an end to the collection of ports on the Mac. Peripheral manufacturers are hard at work creating new versions of their products with Thunderbolt 3 ports.