Connect MacBook Air 2015 to Dell D6000 docking station

[sheapuppy]

I have an old dinosaur MacBook Air early 2015 with Thunderbolt 2. I'm wondering if with the right drivers (and adapter), I'd be able to connect it to my Dell D6000 docking station that has USB-C. The MacBook Air has a female Thunderbolt 2 connector, and the docking station has a male USB-C connector. I just need to use it so that I can take advantage of my dual monitor setup.

Does such adapter exist? I've looked everywhere and I can only find the official Apple Thunderbolt 2 female to Thunderbolt 3 male adapter.

Any advice would be appreciated...JP

 

[JPack]

The D6000 has a built-in USB-C to USB-A adapter. The MacBook Air has a USB-A port on the left side.

Why are you trying to use Thunderbolt?

 

[sheapuppy]

The D6000 has a built-in USB-C to USB-A adapter. The MacBook Air has a USB-A port on the left side.

Why are you trying to use Thunderbolt?

To connect the dual monitor setup. With USB-A I don't get any display nor power to the laptop.

 

[JPack]

To connect the dual monitor setup. With USB-A I don't get any display nor power to the laptop.

The dock supports dual display using USB-A on Windows. I’ve used it that way on Windows notebooks. Have you tried the appropriate driver on the DisplayLink site? Thunderbolt 2 nor USB-A don’t support USB Power Delivery so the dock will never work that way.

 

[sheapuppy]

The dock supports dual display using USB-A on Windows. I’ve used it that way on Windows notebooks. Have you tried the appropriate driver on the DisplayLink site? Thunderbolt 2 nor USB-A don’t support USB Power Delivery so the dock will never work that way.

I haven't tried it via Windows with the MBA 2015. I'm running Monterey on it.

So are you saying that Thunderbolt 2 will not support the displays with the D6000 docking station, even if I find the correct adapter and install the DisplayLink drivers?

My other laptop, a MBP M1, has Thunberbolt 4 so it has no problems connecting to the D6000 docking station once I installed the drivers.

 

[JPack]

I haven't tried it via Windows with the MBA 2015. I'm running Monterey on it.

So are you saying that Thunderbolt 2 will not support the displays with the D6000 docking station, even if I find the correct adapter and install the DisplayLink drivers?

My other laptop, a MBP M1, has Thunberbolt 4 so it has no problems connecting to the D6000 docking station once I installed the drivers.

I have never seen a Thunderbolt 2 to USB-C adapter. So I would completely forget that idea. The benefit of using USB-C on that dock is support for 3 monitors and power delivery. You have 2 monitors. Thunderbolt 2 doesn’t support power delivery and no adapter can add that feature.

On a regular Dell notebook running Windows, this dock can drive 2 monitors using USB-A.

I would focus on using USB-A.

1. Try using legacy drivers if the most recent one doesn’t work.

DisplayLink macOS Software for Downloads Section | Synaptics

WindowsmacOSAndroidChrome OSUbuntuCorpo

www.synaptics.com

2. Perform a firmware update on the dock using a Windows machine.

 

[sheapuppy]

I have never seen a Thunderbolt 2 to USB-C adapter. So I would completely forget that idea. The benefit of using USB-C on that dock is support for 3 monitors and power delivery. You have 2 monitors. Thunderbolt 2 doesn’t support power delivery and no adapter can add that feature.

On a regular Dell notebook running Windows, this dock can drive 2 monitors using USB-A.

I would focus on using USB-A.

1. Try using legacy drivers if the most recent one doesn’t work.

DisplayLink macOS Software for Downloads Section | Synaptics

WindowsmacOSAndroidChrome OSUbuntuCorpo

www.synaptics.com

2. Perform a firmware update on the dock using a Windows machine.

Thanks! I'll install Windows 10 on my MBA 2015 and go the route you suggested.