Thunderbolt

External Drives: Daisy Chains and Bus Power

We often are asked if it is possible to daisy-chain multiple drives and have all of them draw power from the main system bus. The short answer is no. Once you begin daisy chaining hard drives or SSDs, each drive in the chain will need a dedicated power ...

Mercury Elite Pro Dual (Thunderbolt): No Power Switch

For this enclosure, the Thunderbolt connection itself effectively acts as a power switch. Even if the power supply is plugged into the drive, if there is no active data connection between the host computer and the Elite Pro Dual, the enclosure will remain...

Thunderbolt: 1 Port on Bus-powered Devices

All bus-powered Thunderbolt devices on the market (from any manufacturer) have only one Thunderbolt port, no passthrough port. Part of Thunderbolt's spec is that any Thunderbolt port must be able to provide the required 10W of power to any downstream de...

Mercury Helios (TB2): Available PCIe Power

The Mercury Helios PCIe enclosure (Thunderbolt 2, single slot) will provide up to 25W of power to the installed card.  ...

RAID: Should I Replace a Failed Drive?

Note: this topic does not deal with data parity, mirroring or other back-up related technologies. In most situations, when you have a failed drive in a RAID enclosure, you should remove the failed drive immediately from the RAID and replace it. Not re...

Thunderbolt 2 Dock: Supported Resolutions (HDMI)

The computer itself and not the dock will usually be the “limiting” factor for what resolutions are supported. The OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock has a HDMI 1.4b port which allows resolution support up to 4k. All Macs that are capable of running a 4k display are ...

Thunderbolt 2 Dock: Switched Audio Channels

It has been confirmed that the audio channels for the headphone jack (Audio Out) on the OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock, are flipped. That is, the signal for the left channel will play through the right output and vice-versa. Future shipments will include a fix fo...

Thunderbolt 2 Dock: Replacement Power Supply

PART NUMBER: OWCTB2DOCK12P   The power supply found here http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TBDTB4MPWR/ [http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TBDTB4MPWR/] will work with the Thunderbolt 2 Dock, as well as the Thunderbay 4 mini and the Mercury Elite Pr...

Thunderbolt 2 Dock: Ethernet Port Setup

To set up an ethernet connection through the OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock, please follow the instructions below. NOTE: these instructions do not cover the setup or troubleshooting for network connections, only the steps for allowing your dock's ethernet port to...

Thunderbolt Docks (2 & 3): Audio Distortion and Pre-amplification

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: OWCTB2DOCK12P OWCTB3DK13PSL OWCTB3DK13PSG   Please note that when using the Thunderbolt 3 Dock for playback through the headphone / speaker jack, the signal will be pre-amplified. Many types of computer speakers and headphones...

Thunderbolt 2 Dock: Scratch-resistant Cover & Protective Film

ISSUE:  OWC Docks ship with a thin film of protective plastic on its scratch-resistant cover. The plastic film is there to prevent cosmetic damage during packing and shipment. If left intact the film can become scratched after some use, giving the impress...

ThunderBay 4 mini: Power Draw

In limited testing, the OWC ThunderBay 4 mini was found to draw power within the ranges shown below. Examples for both hard drives and SSDs are provided. Please note that within each category, the amount of power drawn will vary slightly based on drive ma...

ThunderBay 4: Power Draw

The OWC ThunderBay 4 enclosure is rated to supply up to 150 watts of power in total when four drives are installed, however in limited testing power draw rarely exceeds 80 watts....

Thunderbolt Docks: Power by Port Type

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: * OWCTB2DOCK12P * OWCTB3DK13PSG * OWCTB3DK13PSL * OWCTB3DK12PSG * OWCTB3DK12PSL * OWCTB3DK14PSG * OWCTB3DK14PSL THUNDERBOLT 2 DOCK USB 3.1 Gen 1 (rear ports): 4.5W USB 3.1 Gen 1 High Power (side port): 7.5W Fir...

OWC Drive Dock: USB Hot-swap Limitation

AFFECTED PART NUMBERS: OWCTB2U3DKR2  When connected via Thunderbolt, you can power each drive bay on and off independently (and swap out either of the drives) without affecting the other drive. When connected via USB, it is possible to unmount either dr...

Thunderbolt 2 Dock: Siri Microphone Input

When you connect the Thunderbolt 2 Dock to a Mac running OS 10.12, Siri's default microphone input may automatically switch from the 'Internal Microphone' setting to 'USB audio CODEC.' If you do not have a microphone connected to the dock, you need to swi...

Thunderbolt Docks (2 & 3): Driver Location

The Thunderbolt 2 Dock and Thunderbolt 3 Dock now use the same driver. The current driver provides support the same set of devices as the previous Thunderbolt 2 Dock driver. Originally, the driver was named OWCThunderbolt2DockChargingSupport.kext. The n...

Carbonite: Thunderbolt™ Compatibility

At the time of this writing, based on information provided to us by Carbonite, we can confirm that their online data backup services do not support storage devices connected via Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt 2, or Thunderbolt 3. Additionally, wireless storage ...

Thunderbolt 3 Dock: Host Charging (USB Power Delivery)

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: * OWCTB3DK13PSG * OWCTB3DK13PSL * OWCTB3DK12PSG * OWCTB3DK12PSL * OWCTB3DK14PSG * OWCTB3DK14PSL The Thunderbolt 3 Dock is capable of delivering between 60 and 85W of power to charge the battery in laptop host computer...

Thunderbolt 3 Dock: S/PDIF Audio

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: OWCTB3DK13PSL, OWCTB3DK13PSG   Please note that S/PDIF is output-only. The S/PDIF connection in the Thunderbolt 3 Dock is driven by a CMedia CM6533N chipset. This chipset provides the following capabilities over S/PDIF:  ...

Thunderbolt 3 Dock: Apple USB Super Drive

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: * OWCTB3DK13PSG * OWCTB3DK13PSL * OWCTB3DK12PSG * OWCTB3DK12PSL * OWCTB3DK14PSG * OWCTB3DK14PSL * OWCTB3PRODCK   Please note that in order to use the Apple USB Super Drive with a OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock or the Thun...

Thunderbolt 3 Cables: USB Error Message

When customers plug their Thunderbolt 3 cable (any brand) into a host and device, they may see this error message: "USB Accessories Disabled Unplug the accessory using too much power to re-enable USB devices."   The best resolution is to try another...

USB-C Travel Dock: 4K HDMI Display Behavior (ASUS)

In rare cases, customers using a 4K HDMI ASUS display with the USB-C Travel Dock MAY experience an issue where video playback is not perfectly smooth or as smooth as it is at lower resolutions. This happens only under the conditions noted below. Even then...

ThunderBay 4: Incompatible 2.5 inch SSDs

Please note that all ThunderBay 4 with Thunderbolt 3 units purchased prior to October 29, 2018, are incompatible with the SSD models shown below. This issue does not impact the ThunderBay 4 with Thunderbolt 2. IF YOU PURCHASED THE PRODUCT BETWEEN 10/29/...

OWC ThunderBlade: Windows Unmount Behavior

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: * OWCTB3TBV4T1.0 * OWCTB3TBV4T2.0 * OWCTB3TBV4T4.0 * OWCTB3TBV4T8.0 Please be aware that due to circumstances beyond OWC's control, when the ThunderBlade volume is ejected or unmounted from Windows 10, there can be a subs...

OWC ThunderBlade: Thermal Requirements

* Please note that demanding use-cases can cause the ThunderBlade to heat up. This is expected; the case is designed to act as a radiator, drawing heat away from the internal components. For this reason, please avoid stacking two or more ThunderBlades to...

OWC Express 4M2: Drive Compatibility

OVERVIEW The Express 4M2 enclosure only works with NVMe (PCIe 3.0) SSDs. SATA M.2 drives will not function if installed. Note that you cannot distinguish an NVMe M.2 drive from a SATA-based drive just by looking at the M.2 connector key. Both types of...

OWC Drive Dock (All): Toshiba HDD Sleep Issue

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: * OWCTB2U3DKR2 * OWCU3DRVDCK2 * OWCTCDRVDCK   Please be aware that if you are booting from certain Toshiba 3.5 inch HDDs you may not be able to use the Mac operating systems' sleep modes as expected. In some cases the sys...

ThunderBay (Thunderbolt 3 Models): Drive Sleep Issue

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: * OWCTB36LRTxxx * OWCTB36SRTxxx * OWCTB36LRKIT0 * OWCTB36SRKIT0 * OWCTB3SRTxxxx * OWCTB3IVTxxxx * OWCTB3SRKIT0GB * OWCTB3IVKIT0GB   Please note that we have recently verified an issue that may impact your Thunde...

Thunderbolt 3 Dual Display Adapters: Notes and Recommendations

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: OWCTB3ADP2DP OWCTB3ADP2HDMI   Please note the following when using either of the OWC Thunderbolt 3 display adapters: * Using cheap or inexpensive cables can result in a flickering or poor performance with the connected dis...

OWC Expansion Docks: Driver Security Warning Mac

RELEVANT PART NUMBERS: OWCTB2DOCK12P OWCTB3DK13PSL OWCTB3DK13PSG OWCTB3DK14PSL OWCTB3DK14PSG  OWCTCDK10PMDSG OWCTCDK10PMDSL OWCTCDK10PMDRG OWCTCDK10PMDGD OWCTCDK10PMHSG OWCTCDK10PMHSL OWCTCDK10PMHRG OWCTCDK10PMHGD OWCTCDOCK11PSG OWCTCDOCK11PSL...

Mercury Helios FX (all): LED, Fan Behavior During Sleep

PART NUMBERS: * OWCHELIOSFX650 * OWCHELIOSFX * OWCHELFX6RX580 * OWCHELFXRX580 Please note that when setting your Mac or PC to sleep while the Helios FX series device is connected, the behavior for each system is slightly different. When a conne...

USB-C, Thunderbolt Explained

The following articles have been posted on the Rocket Yard blog, to help understand the similarities and differences between USB-C and Thunderbolt 3, as well as new Thunderbolt 4 information. * Should You Upgrade to USB-C? [https://blog.macsales.com/5...

Thunderbolt 4: Are My Thunderbolt 3 Products Obsolete?

As we mentioned in an earlier Rocket Yard post, “Intel Introduces Thunderbolt 4: What Is It and Does It Matter? [https://blog.macsales.com/63715-intel-introduces-thunderbolt-4-what-is-it-and-does-it-matter/]” Intel released the specifications and expectat...

Thunderbolt 3 Laptops: Battery Mgmt. (10.15.5 )

In macOS 10.15.5, Apple released a new feature designed to help manage the charging and lifespan of batteries in Thunderbolt 3 Mac laptops. Called Battery Health Management [https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211246], the feature "is designed to improve yo...

Thunderbolt 3 mini Dock: USB Devices in Windows

Please note that for some PCs, laptops in particular, the default USB power management settings in Windows 10 may cause a number of unexpected behaviors with USB devices, including: * Devices which are idle for a few minutes may spontaneously power do...

OWC Diagnostics: Multi-purpose Windows Utility

As of August 2020, we have expanded our OWC Diagnostics utility. Previously this was available only through our Support Team but going forward will be a publicly available download, as we continue to expand its capabilities. This utility makes it easy t...

Envoy Express: SSD Compatibility Notes

RELEVANT PART NUMBER: OWCTB3ENVXP00 For MacSales-purchased enclosures that shipped prior to December 4, 2020, some THIRD PARTY M.2 SSDs may not work properly, even if their specs match the general requirements. Since that time OWC began applying a hardw...

Thunderbolt 3 Dock (14-port): Thunderbolt 2 Adapter Limitations

Occasionally MacSales Customers with Thunderbolt 2 Macs ask about or would like to try connecting their computer, via a 20 Gb/s Thunderbolt cable and the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter [https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/MMEL2AMA/...

OWC Thunderbolt Dock Troubleshooting (OWCTB4DOCK)

The OWC Thunderbolt Dock expands the Thunderbolt functionality of your Apple M1 Mac, any Apple 'Intel' Mac with Thunderbolt 3, or any Thunderbolt 4 PC. You will see that it delivers the same compatibility to all of your devices like they're plugged direct...

Thunderbolt Daisy Chain

Daisy chaining over Thunderbolt has a six-device maximum per bus. Refer to the manufacture specifications of your host to determine the number of Thunderbolt buses and associated ports.  While Daisy chaining multiple Thunderbolt devices does allow for a...

Power Adapter Troubleshooting

A devices power adapter should be considered for troubleshooting if issues are being experienced. These issues can include, but not limited to, no power to the device or inconsistent recognition of the device by the host. * Troubleshooting expected po...