Legacy Thunderbolt connectivity

[AtulKshirsagar]

I bought Envy 16-h1xxx recently which has 2 thunderbolt4 ports. I was hoping to use my Apple Display with legacy Thunderbolt 1/2 with my laptop.

Does the HP Envy BIOS support connectivity to legacy Thunderbolt devices ? If not out-of-the-box is there a way to turn it on ?

[VikramTheGreat · Accepted solution]

Hi @AtulKshirsagar,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

Welcome to the HP, and thank you for your question regarding Thunderbolt compatibility on your HP ENVY 16-h1000 (754G1AV) laptop running Windows 11.

Your HP ENVY 16-h1xxx model includes 2 Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports that support:

• USB4/Thunderbolt 4 protocols
• DisplayPort 1.4 video output
• Power delivery
• Data transfer up to 40Gbps

These ports are designed to connect to modern USB-C or Thunderbolt 3/4 displays and docking stations that use a USB Type-C connector.
 

Thunderbolt 1 and 2 devices — such as early Apple Thunderbolt Displays — use a Mini DisplayPort-style connector, which is not natively supported by Thunderbolt 4 ports on HP laptops.

Additionally:

• The BIOS and system firmware on HP ENVY 16-h1xxx models do not support backwards compatibility with Thunderbolt 1/2 devices.
• There is no option in the BIOS to enable legacy Thunderbolt signalling for Thunderbolt 1/2.
• Adapters from Thunderbolt 3/4 to Thunderbolt 1/2 are not supported by HP systems, as they rely on macOS-specific firmware integration.

I hope this answers your query.

Take care and have a good day.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, as it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

VikramTheGreat

HP Support

[Huffer]

AI says:

Adapters:

Adapters can be used to connect older Thunderbolt 1 or 2 devices to Thunderbolt 4 ports, but performance may be limited

I have actually used an old Apple Display with a "modern" Tbolt 4 laptop this way..

https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Thunderbolt-USB-C-Adapter/dp/B0DCHHPG2Y/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1SXDU36HLHYHN&d...

But see caveat above. 

[AtulKshirsagar]

Thanks for the detailed response @VikramTheGreat .

I was hoping the "Apple's adapter from Thunderbolt 3/4 to Thunderbolt 1/2" (link - https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MYH93ZM/A/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter ) to work, but it doesn't as you explained. Also I confirmed that there are no options in BIOS settings to enable legacy Thunderbolt (1/2) device communication. 

It is disappointing to know that there is no workaround to make this work.

[AtulKshirsagar]

Hello @Huffer, Thanks for your reply. This adapter does not work in my situation. See the other replies in this thread for more details. 

Thanks,

Atul