Thunderbolt 3, 4 and 5 cables

The Aurora(n)-TB3 and Hilo-TB3 both use Thunderbolt 3 as the interface to your computer.  Thunderbolt 3, 4 and 5 use a USB-C connector on each end of the cable, however not every USB-C cable is capable of supporting Thunderbolt.

We have tested Thunderbolt cables from Anker, Apple, Belkin, Cable Matters and StarTech and all of them work fine with the Aurora(n)-TB3, Hilo-TB3 and Mesa.

Passive Cables

Passive cables have no internal repeater, so they can be 0.8 meters maximum.  As such they are much less expensive than active cables.

Anker: 0.7 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable

Belkin: 0.5 meter Thunderbolt 3 cable

Belkin: 0.8 meter Thunderbolt 3 cable

Cable Matters: 0.3 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable

Cable Matters: 0.3 meter Thunderbolt 5 cable

Cable Matters: 0.5 meter Thunderbolt 5 cable

Cable Matters: 0.8 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable

OWC: 0.7 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable

StarTech: 0.5 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable

Active Cables

Anker: 0.5m Thunderbolt 5 Cable

Anker: 1m Thunderbolt 5 Cable

Apple: 1 meter Thunderbolt 5 cable

Apple: 1.8 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable

Apple: 3 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable.  Please note this is the only certified 3 meter cable available.

Belkin: 2 meter Thunderbolt 3 cable

Cable Matters: 1 meter Thunderbolt 5 cable

Cable Matters: 2 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable

OWC: 2 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable

StarTech: 1 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable

StarTech: 2 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable

Please note that there is really no difference between a Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 cable, as long as they both support 40Gbps.  Thunderbolt 5 cables are backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3.

Optical Cables

If a cable longer than 3 meters is required, optical is the only option.

Corning: 5 meter Thunderbolt 3 optical cable

Corning: 10 meter Thunderbolt 3 optical cable

Corning: 15 meter Thunderbolt 3 optical cable

Corning: 25 meter Thunderbolt 3 optical cable

Corning: 50 meter Thunderbolt 3 optical cable

OWC: 4.5 meter Thunderbolt 4 optical cable

Please be aware that optical cables are more fragile than copper wires, so they should not be bent or curved around tight corners, and should generally be treated much more carefully. Optical cables cannot provide power delivery to downstream devices.

Thunderbolt 1 or 2 connections

If your computer only supports Thunderbolt 1 or Thunderbolt 2, you can still use the Aurora(n)-TB3, Hilo-TB3 or Mesa, you just need to purchase a Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter cable.  We have tested the Apple adapter cable and it is the only one we can recommend:

Apple Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter

Connect this adapter cable directly to the Aurora(n)-TB3 or Hilo-TB3 and use a Thunderbolt 2 cable to connect to the computer.

If your Hilo or Aurora(n) only supports Thunderbolt 1 (serial number of the LSlot board starts with 14), we still recommend the Apple adapter cable (above).  Connect the adapter cable directly to the computer and use a Thunderbolt 2 cable to connect to the Hilo or Aurora(n).  Please note that many Windows computers with Thunderbolt 4 ports no longer support Thunderbolt 1 devices.

This page last updated on 11-Nov-2025