This is one of two drives I am considering for backup and, because my USB 3 ports are all occupied, I’d like to use one of the vacant Thunderbolt ports. I also want to derive the power for the drive from the iMac port.

I assume I can use my Thunderbolt ports because they are designated Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) and Apple support describes them as: “Thunderbolt 3 also supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 connectivity at up to 10 Gbps, and can supply 15 W of power per port to external devices.”

However, the LaCie drive output is only described as USB 3.

My Thunderbolt port information is:

Port:
Status: No device connected
Link Status: 0x101
Speed: Up to 40 Gb/s x1
Current Link Width: 0x1
Receptacle: 2
Link Controller Firmware Version: 0.37.0

I’ve been unable to locate a cable that would go from the USB 3 output to my Thunderbolt ports, which makes me wonder if I’ve reached the right conclusion in terms of connecting the drive to the Mac.

Thoughts? Cautions?

I use a USB C to USB adaptor. Works great.

The drive you are looking at has a good reputation but note that it is USB 3.0. USB 3.1 gen 1 is several times faster and USB 3.1 gen 2 matches USB C speeds. There are USB 3.1 gen 1 drives out there for only a few dollars more than USB 3.0 and IMO they are worth searching out.

Bad link...connects to:

Thanks Artie. Catalina, Safari 13, and Apple's veteran's store threw me a curve ball on that one. I have corrected the URL, but since that has been turned on I can't tell for sure the new URL works correctly.

Looks good...


More: And as clarification for ryck, USB-C's default protocol os USB 3.1, ie. the cable will be good for any flavor of USB up to and including 3.1.