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Would an Apple Thunderbolt / Network Adaptor work in my XPS12 mini display port
I sometimes would like to have a wired connection to my Router, but of course my Dell
has no network socket.
I've bought cheaply a Thunderbolt /Network adaptor (plugs into Mini Display
Port), on the off chance it may have given me a new network connection.
But it doesn't seem to work; am I flogging a dead horse?
Thanks
jphughan
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February 8th, 2018 13:00
Thunderbolt 1 and 2 share the same physical connector as Mini DisplayPort, but that does not mean that Thunderbolt 1 and 2 devices will work on any Mini DisplayPort connector. Similarly, Thunderbolt 3 uses a USB-C connector, but Thunderbolt 3 devices will not work in a regular USB-C connector that does not explicitly also support Thunderbolt 3. So no, your adapter will not work on your XPS 12. As ejn63 said, find a USB 3.0 to Gigabit adapter, which only cost about $20 unless you go for fancier models that have things like an additional USB port (so you don't lose a port by having the adapter connected in case your PC has fairly few ports) and/or multiple Ethernet interfaces on the same device.
ejn63
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February 8th, 2018 13:00
You'd be better off using a USB 3.1 Ethernet adapter (assuming this is an XPS 9250; there are older models as well).
Peasemore
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February 8th, 2018 14:00
Thanks all; I'd avoided USB type as only having 2 USB ports they're
normally in use.
jphughan
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February 8th, 2018 14:00
Then take a look at the StarTech USB31000SPTB, which has a passthrough USB port. It may not work for devices with high power requirements like USB-powered spinning hard drives, but it should work perfectly fine for most devices so that you don't have to lose a USB port when you have this thing plugged in.
jphughan
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February 8th, 2018 14:00
Another option would be the Anker A7514041, which is an aluminum 3-port USB 3.0 hub that also has Gigabit Ethernet built in, and even looks to be a bit smaller than that StarTech device I mentioned earlier without costing any more. It will likely have the same issue about not being able to run high-powered devices (which is true of any unpowered USB hub, fyi), but you'll get even more ports.