I tried CalDigit Element Hub with iMac14,2 (Thunderbolt 1) using Big Sur 11.2. The Thunderbolt 4 device is not enumerated or shown to the user when it is connected. I don't know what Thunderbolt 1 Mac CalDigit had success with.
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MP 6,1 Great way to add USB-C to 2013 Mac Pro
- Thread starter w4rmk
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CalDigit says the Element Hub can work with Thunderbolt 1 and Thunderbolt 2 Macs.
https://www.caldigit.com/does-the-e...-thunderbolt-1-or-thunderbolt-2-mac-computer/
I asked them which computers and macOS versions. They said it worked with a MacBook Pro (2012) and a Mac Pro (2013 trash can)
Maybe they'll report back with more details later. If there's something blocking Thunderbolt 4 devices from working then it would be nice to have an unblocker such as the one made for using early pre-Mac Thunderbolt 3 devices. https://github.com/rgov/Thunderbolt3Unblocker
My tests:
I’ve tried the following:
- High Sierra (17G14042)
- Catalina 10.15.7 (19H1713) (19H1824)
- Big Sur 11.2 (20D64)
- Monterey 12.0.1 (21A559)
OpenCore is used to boot Big Sur and Monterey since the latest macOS supported by the 2013 iMac is Catalina.
For High Sierra, If I have the Element Hub connected at boot, I get a Thunderbolt related panic during boot. I can connect it after booting is completed but it is not detected as usual. I’ll get a hang if I disconnect it.
In any case, there’s always some Thunderbolt stuff in the Console.app when I connect the Element Hub and in System Information.app, the port the Element Hub is connected to changes from Link Status: 0x101 (or 7) to Link Status: 0x2.
Cable Firmware Version: 1.1.0 / 0.0.0
Console.app doesn’t show anything when I connect or disconnect Thunderbolt devices to or from the downstream Thunderbolt ports of the Element Hub.
The iMac 2013 supports Thunderbolt Target Display Mode, so it may have some differences to support that (it has a DisplayPort Out Adapter for that purpose; DisplayPort Out Adapters usually exist only in peripheral Thunderbolt controllers but maybe they also exist in Thunderbolt 3 add-in cards). The iMac’s Thunderbolt 1 controller (vendor/product 8086:1547) appears to be a DSL3510 [Cactus Ridge 4C 2012]
FWIW, I had a 2013 Mac Pro and tried to use it with the Element Hub via the TB3 to TB2 adapter and I was never able to get it to work. The Hub worked fine on a TB4 PC, on a 2019 MBP, and now is working fine on my Studio, but it never showed up on the 2013 Mac Pro. I also tried an OWC Hub with the Mac Pro and it also didn't work.
What versions of macOS did you use? Did you try the recommended macOS 11.2 Big Sur?
I was using whatever the latest version was at the time, would have been around last October
I hope someone can get Thunderbolt 4 devices working. I'd like to use a TB4 hub to connect a TB3 hard drive to the 6,1.
this one seems nice, only 99EuroDollars, but you would still need an TB3 to TB2 Adapter, and the speeds wont probably be 20GB/s, only 10 i presume.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxEpWXop_WE
EDIT: it states USB 3.1 for Type-C, so maybe it is even only 5 GB/s, so no real (speed)gain here.
but a similar hub could maybe provide better speeds with usb-c 3.2 or so.
EDIT2: this hub seems to offer 10GB/s over USB-C, but boy, it's expensive.
www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-station-4/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxEpWXop_WE
EDIT: it states USB 3.1 for Type-C, so maybe it is even only 5 GB/s, so no real (speed)gain here.
but a similar hub could maybe provide better speeds with usb-c 3.2 or so.
EDIT2: this hub seems to offer 10GB/s over USB-C, but boy, it's expensive.
www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-station-4/
It's only $99 because it's not Thunderbolt and therefore can't be connected with a TB3 to TB2 adapter.
Since it's not Thunderbolt, it contains no USB controller, just a USB hub, therefore the USB speed is limited to that of the host computer.
Probably shouldn't use Thunderbolt 4 devices with anything earlier than a Thunderbolt 3 host (read the other posts in this thread).
@joevt, alright, that was too quick, thanks for claryfing. if thunderbolt 4 not retro with with thunderbolt 2, another disappointment, really, @intel;
the provided link does only state an incompatibilty of "Elemental Hub" by Caldigit with anything above BigSur 11.2, so that does not apply to all other devices, i assume.
the provided link does only state an incompatibilty of "Elemental Hub" by Caldigit with anything above BigSur 11.2, so that does not apply to all other devices, i assume.
I don't see any other Thunderbolt 4 docks or hubs say they support Thunderbolt 2 hosts. They only mention compatibility with Thunderbolt 3/4 Macs.
retrocompatibility is Thunderbolt 2 device connected to Thunderbolt 3 host - the host is the basis for comparison, Thunderbolt 2 is retro compared to Thunderbolt 3.
Connecting a Thunderbolt 4 device to a Thunderbolt 2 host requires forward compatibility on the part of the host.
Thunderbolt 2 hosts only have forward compatibility with Thunderbolt 3 devices.
It's been smooth sailing with the WD_Black D50 here.. very pleased with it indeed!! Having the NVMe built in has been a real boon.
I was wondering if there's any good use to be had from a Lenovo Legion Booststation in the UK - there's a good deal on these atm (£93.49.. send a PM for link)
Would any graphics cards would give my base-spec trashcan a boost through this eGPU? Recommendations would be great..
It does presumably open up the opportunity of other PCIe cards at a bargain basement price, with the added bonus of being a Thunderbolt / USB / SATA hub.
I was wondering if there's any good use to be had from a Lenovo Legion Booststation in the UK - there's a good deal on these atm (£93.49.. send a PM for link)
Would any graphics cards would give my base-spec trashcan a boost through this eGPU? Recommendations would be great..
It does presumably open up the opportunity of other PCIe cards at a bargain basement price, with the added bonus of being a Thunderbolt / USB / SATA hub.
I used this method with the TS3 for a few days. Then out of nowhere the ssd will unmount on larger file transfers. This happens with the ts3 and another dock. Both docks will mount the drive and can read the drives. But on file transfer will unmount.
The other odd thing is that this behavior happens only when the drive is connected to the tb3 port on the ts3. The drive works fine on the slower usb 10gb connection.
The other odd thing is that this behavior happens only when the drive is connected to the tb3 port on the ts3. The drive works fine on the slower usb 10gb connection.
Just to clarify - this is a "TS3 Plus" dock, not TS3 - the TS3 Plus has the memory card slot on the front and the TS3 does not (among other differences).I stumbled upon a great way to add USB-C ports to my 2013 Mac Pro. In summary - buy a CalDigit TS3 Dock !!! I got the CalDigit TS3 as a dock for my 2016 MacBook Pro which connects via Thunderbolt 3 cable (not USB-C as they are different cables). I purchased an Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter so that I could use target disk mode to transfer all my data from the MacBook Pro over to the Mac Pro (which worked great). By the way Apple's adapter is bi-directional, meaning you can use the adapter to go either way (TB2 to TB3 or vice-versa). When I was done using the adapter for file transfer I thought, hmm I wonder what would happen if I plugged the CalDigit into the Mac Pro through the adapter. The CalDigit TS3 is a Thunderbolt 3 Dock so I wasn't sure it would work at all or maybe act squirrely. Well I can report that it works perfect connected to the 2013 Mac Pro using the genuine Apple Thunderbolt adapter and a genuine Apple Thunderbolt 2 cable. The CalDigit TS3 has lots of USB-C ports and all of them work great! I can plug in my iPadPro using the USB-C cable and it works great. My SanDisk USB-C SSD works great too. Now do keep in mind I am obviously getting the lowest common denominator bandwidth (Thunderbolt 2). BUT - it's much faster than connecting these devices over the USB3 ports built into the Mac Pro. So in summary, I highly recommend the CalDigit TS3 as a fantastic companion to the 2013 Mac Pro. What a great way to add the more modern USB-C ports to this older model computer!!
![Cal-Digit-Mac-Pro.jpg]()
-bob
