Apple Silicon M1 Mac connecting 30″ Apple Cinema Display

apple-siliconcinema-displaydisplayportm1thunderbolt

I am attempting to connect an Apple Silicon Mac Mini, MacBook Air, and/or MacBook Pro to a 30" Apple Cinema Display at native 2560x1600 resolution.

The same question for Intel Macs with USB-C is asked here:

I'm attempting to use the same chain of adapters as listed in those answers, which I have personally tested to work on an Intel USB-C Mac:

  1. M1 Mac (USB-C / Thunderbolt 3)
  2. USB-C to Mini DisplayPort adapter
  3. Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter
  4. Apple Cinema Display 30" (Dual-Link DVI)

However, this combination does not seem to work on my M1 Mac Mini.

I get no screen response on the M1 Mac. The monitor's power light is on, and USB-passthrough of my keyboard and mouse works fine, but the screen is not recognized by the Mac.

Do Apple Silicon Macs with Thunderbolt 3 require specific adapters, different from previous Intel Thunderbolt 3 Macs?

The Mac Mini-based Apple Silicon Developer Transition Kit (DTK) did not work with the Apple Cinema Display; I'm hoping that limitation was removed from the shipping version.

I'd like to continue to use the 30" Apple Cinema Display + Apple Dual Link DVI Adapter. Which additional adapters are needed to use that Mini DisplayPort output with an M1 Mac?

Discussion:

Best Answer

I purchased a new USB-C to Mini DisplayPort adapter.

This adapter works fine connected to an M1 Mac, Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter, and 30" Apple Cinema Display.

Biming USB-C DisplayPort

I was previously using the same type of connector, but a few years older and from a different brand:

But that adapter does not work on my M1 Mac. It does work with Intel USB-C Macs.

I would be interested to know why the original adapter does not work. Do M1 Macs require some additional spec?

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