I've got a laptop equipped with two Thunderbolt 5 ports, and I'm looking to use them strictly as Thunderbolt 4 ports. This is necessary because I want them to work with older versions of Windows, which rely on Thunderbolt 4 for full compatibility. The laptop also includes two native Thunderbolt 4 ports that are functioning properly with the driver installed. Is there a way to configure the Thunderbolt 5 ports to emulate Thunderbolt 4 ports only? Thanks in advance!
1 Answer
Thunderbolt technology is generally backward compatible, so when you connect a Thunderbolt 5 port to a Thunderbolt 4 device, it should run at Thunderbolt 4 speeds automatically. However, I see you're concerned about using the ports with older Windows versions. Unfortunately, prior versions of Windows, like 10 and 11 before the recent updates, don't officially support Thunderbolt 5. It's tricky to force the controller to recognize the TB5 port purely as TB4, but it might be worth checking if there are any driver options or software settings that allow you to change how the port is recognized.
That's important to know! I was hoping for a straightforward fix, but it looks like I'll need to experiment with driver updates or settings to see if there's a way to limit its function.