Why is Thunderbolt 3 so short?

Passive Thunderbolt 3 cables are generally short for best performance, and maintain USB 3.1 Type-C compatibility. Neither passive nor active imply anything about maximum charging power, nor are they necessarily labeled on the cable indicating what they are capable of.
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Why are Thunderbolt cables short?

For starters, active cables are more expensive, which is probably one of the reasons why companies tend to bundle shorter, passive cables with their Thunderbolt 3 products. Another issue with active cables is that they lack backwards compatibility with USB 3.
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Can Thunderbolt 3 Be Extended?

Is There extension cable available? Yes and no. You can extend USB Type C which is compatible with Thunderbolt 3 connection. Instead of 40Gb/s bandwidth you will get 10Gb/s (or 5Gb/s with USB3.
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What is the shortest Thunderbolt 3 cable?

Fully Thunderbolt compatible, this compact 0.5 Meter cable is ideal for connecting desktop peripherals such as docks and hard drives. Get the most from all your Thunderbolt 3 devices with the ultimate smart, high speed cable.
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Does Thunderbolt 3 cable length matter?

While the use of copper Thunderbolt 3 cables limits their length, it does allow for additional features like the ability to carry power and fallback use of USB modes at slower speeds.
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Thunderbolt 3 vs. USB-C - What Is The Difference? [Simple Guide]



Does the length of a Thunderbolt cable matter?

Active Thunderbolt 3 cables support Thunderbolt at 40Gbps data transfer at lengths of up to 2m. Optical cables are targeted later, with lengths of up to 60m. Passive lower cost cables are only capable of 20Gbps data transfer at 1m or 2m lengths, but can achieve the full 40Gbps at a shorter cable length of 0.5m.
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Can Thunderbolt be extended?

To extend the cable-distance between display and laptop: Use a Thunderbolt (2) male to male cable from Thunderbolt slot on Apple Thunderbolt Display to MacBook Pro (using the T2-3 adapter). The Thunderbolt cable attached to the display can then be used to power my TB2 sound card.
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Can I use a USB-C cable for Thunderbolt 3?

You can use Thunderbolt cables with a USB-C port. However, not every Windows PC with USB-C ports will support Thunderbolt 3 cables. To confirm whether or not you have a Thunderbolt port on your PC, look for the trademark Thunderbolt's lightning symbol next to or near the port.
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Is Thunderbolt better than HDMI?

Thunderbolt is significantly faster than USB 3.0 or FireWire and provides more video bandwidth than HDMI.
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What is the difference between Thunderbolt 3 and 4?

Screen Expansion: Thunderbolt 4 supports 4K to dual monitors or 8K to a single monitor, while Thunderbolt 3 supports 4K to dual monitors or 5K to a single monitor. Charging: Thunderbolt 4 can provide charging power up to 100W from a single port.
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Is Thunderbolt 4 the same as USB-C?

Thunderbolt 4 uses the USB-C connector, and it's backward compatible with all USB standards. So, in the sense of (for example) whether you can connect your USB-C custom flash drives to your laptop's Thunderbolt port, the two are the same.
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Are all Thunderbolt 3 cables the same?

Are all Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) cables created equal? No, in fact, there are two types of Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) cables, passive and active. Passive cables cost less and can reach up to 40 Gb/s data transfer if the length is 0.5m or less and 20 Gb/s if over 0.5m.
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Does Thunderbolt 3 have Thunderbolt 2 cable?

About this item. The Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 adapter lets you connect Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 devices — external hard drives and Thunderbolt displays, for example — to any of the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports on your MacBook Pro.
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How long can thunderbolt 4 cable be?

The Cable Matters Thunderbolt™ 4 Cable - 6.6 Feet combines the latest in Thunderbolt technology with a repeater chipset to push the length limits of the latest Thunderbolt standard. Existing passive cables lack protection from signal degradation at longer distances and typically max out at around 0.8 meters/2.6 feet.
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How long can Thunderbolt 2 cable be?

It will be able to stretch 4K video streams from a Mac to a 4K monitor for the full length. Corning this week at International CES demonstrated optical cables stretching 200 feet, or 61 meters, that are also Thunderbolt 2 compatible. The technology transfers data at speeds of up to 20Gbps (bits per second).
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Is there a thunderbolt 4?

Thunderbolt 4 is basically a guarantee that you are getting the best version of USB4. While USB4 offers the same 40Gbps speed as Thunderbolt 4, there is also a slower 20Gbps version of USB4. Thunderbolt 4 also guarantees you can run a pair of 4K displays at minimum and transfer data at up to 32Gbps.
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Is USB 3.1 2 Type C the same as Thunderbolt?

Despite the difference in transmission protocols, Thunderbolt™3 and USB 3.1 Gen2 Type C can share the same USB-C™ port. For example, if users connect a USB-C™ laptop to a Thunderbolt™ 3 monitor, they can still be used as a set. The only difference is due to USB3.
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Can I charge MacBook with Thunderbolt?

You can use any of the Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports to charge your Mac with a USB-C charge cable.
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Can a Thunderbolt port be split?

This Thunderbolt hub splits a single Thunderbolt port into multiple Thunderbolt ports. It also supports daisy chaining and power delivery.
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What is a thunderbolt 4 port?

Thunderbolt 4 ports have a 40Gbps (gigabits per second) bidirectional bandwidth. That means data can be moved to and from external storage quickly, and that up to five Thunderbolt devices can be connected for flexible device configurations—all powered by one port.
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How do I daisy chain Thunderbolt devices?

How to Thunderbolt daisy-chain
  1. Verify that your GPU can support MST (if not, download a driver)
  2. Plug each of your monitors into a power source and make sure all power cables are securely connected.
  3. Use a Thunderbolt cable to connect your computer to Monitor 1.
  4. Use a Thunderbolt cable to connect Monitor 1 to Monitor 2.
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How long can a USB hub be?

USB Hubs: You can use extension cables and self-powered USB hubs connected together to extend the range of your USB device. However, it is important to remember when using 2.0 hubs and cables that the distance between each powered hub can be no more than 5 meters (16 feet and 5 inches).
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