Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adaptor

Reviews for Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adaptor

Customer Reviews and Ratings

3.0 out of 5 stars

Based on 58 reviews

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Works for FW800 but lacks ability to daisychain Thunderbolt

    • Written by from New York

    This adapter worked to connect a FW800 disk to my MacMini w/o any problems.

    However the major problem is that it does NOT have a second Thunderbolt connection on it so I can not daisychain the Thunderbolt devices. So effectively, I must choose whether to use Thunderbolt for a network, FW800, or graphics connection. This defeats the purpose of supposedly being able to daisy chain up to six devices on a single Thunderbolt chain.

    3 of 4 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Not good enough

    • Written by from NEW YORK

    When Apple decided to eliminate the mini-DVI, Ethernet and Firewire ports on their new MacBook Pro laptops (three ports in total) and replace them with just two Thunderbolt ports, they created a dilemma for many MacBook Pro owners - myself in particular - trying to upgrade their systems. My MacBook Pro is the hub of a desktop system that includes Firewire drives, Ethernet connectivity and an Apple LED Cinema display. With only Thunderbolt ports on the new laptops and no single adapter that can handle both Ethernet and Firewire, I have to decide what to give up. Apple certainly wasn't thinking about their legacy users when they settled on this design. The old Apple would not have eliminated both the Ethernet port and the Firewire port - these are both current technologies - or it would have made an adapter that could connect both Ethernet and Firewire through a single Thunderbolt port and would include that adapter - free of charge - with every MacBook Pro it sold. Does Apple expect everyone to scrap their DVI, Firewire and Ethernet devices and purchase all new Thunderbolt devices? Really Apple.... !!!

    28 of 31 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Works but what a waste

    • Written by from Pittsburg

    I thought I had made a good call getting an external firewire 800 drive as a time machine backup for my old iMac but was pretty bummed when my new iMac arrived and I realized I couldn't even plug in the firewire drive to set up the new machine without spending another $30. Come on Apple! How about throwing us loyal apple customers one firewire port for old time sake?

    25 of 30 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Slow and unreliable connection

    • Written by from Bellevue

    This has proven to be a poor substitute for my years-long trusted FW800 connection to my external, self-powered, hard drives especially my Drobo drive.

    I've been simplifying my setup for my brand new iMac 27" and have kept only the Drobo drive on FW800, through this adapter. My transfer rates have been cut in half to barely USB 2 speeds, and even more problematic the connection hangs several times a day, likely when the bus goes to sleep. I therefore have to reboot my Drobo several times a day, whereas it has been running flawlessly and without interruptions for three years now.
    Needless to say FW800 is no longer an option for me. And given the very high prices, Thunderbolt is not yet an realistic alternative for mass storage.

    38 of 38 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Compatibility Issues

    • Written by from Peachtree City

    I had no problem using the adapter with external powered Firewire drives. Unfortunately, my bus powered portable Firewire drives (2 different bands) were not recognized and would not boot despite the drives appearing to be powered (LED & spinning disk). I verified the issue on two Macs, a late 2012 iMac and a Macbook Air. Bummer!

    20 of 20 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Only works in one way...

    • Written by from Carlsbad

    I purchased this cable to plug my 1TB Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt portable drive, into the Firewire 800 port on my older 17" MacBook Pro (which has no Thunderbolt ports). It didn't work. I called Buffalo tech support, who told me the drive will not work this way. It has to be plugged directly into a Thunderbolt Port.

    So I give this product 2 stars mainly for the product description, which clearly explains that the cable plus into a Thunderbolt port to give you an FireWire 800 port... but does not explain that the cable WILL NOT connect a Thunderbolt peripheral to a Firewire 800 port. I think it was a logical assumption that it would...

    147 of 398 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Doesn't bus power everything my FW800 did

    • Written by from Beecher

    Waited and waited for this to be released... and it doesn't give enough power to power my G-Raid Mini (Gen 3)

    Really disappointed!

    Makes me regret buying a rMBP...

    44 of 45 people found this useful

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