[donawalt]

Hi all, I have a 2017 MBP 15", and I had a question that I have not been able to find an answer to. From what I have read, all 4 ports on the 15" are identical Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C compatible) ports - completely interchangeable. Yet, from time to time I read someone who says something like "that only worked when I plugged into a port on the right side...)

Are there differences between the ports, even for legacy devices, or are they truly identical?

Thanks!

[Quis89]

They are identical on the 15 inch model.

Thunderbolt 3 data speeds per MacBook Pro port
MacBook Pro models introduced in 2016 vary slightly in the data speeds they provide to each Thunderbolt 3 port:
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016) delivers full Thunderbolt 3 performance on all four ports.
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) supports Thunderbolt 3 at full performance using the two left-hand ports. The two right-hand ports deliver Thunderbolt 3 functionality, but have reduced PCI Express bandwidth.
Always plug higher-performance devices into the left-hand ports on MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) for maximum data throughput.
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports) delivers full Thunderbolt 3 performance on both ports.

[donawalt]

Thanks, this says 2016 MBP. Mine is a 2017. Are the two 2017 models the same as this?

[Abu Khadija]

I bought the 2017 15" MacBook Pro almost 3 weeks ago. All I've done so far is to see if all the ports will charge the thing. All of them do. I haven't yet hooked a monitor up yet.

[Abu Khadija]

Yesterday I was downloading 2 books from iBooks and a movie from iTunes while I was playing a game. The part between the screen and the touch bar was starting to get hot. I stopped the game and than it started cooling down. I haven't gotten AppleCare yet. Hope there's nothing to be concerned about.

[Hup55]

My 2016 MBP 15" all 4 of my USB C ports charge. Not sure where thats coming from that only some do??

[Abu Khadija]

I tried changing on all 4 of my ports, and they all charge. The 2017 15" MacBook Pro (& probably the 2016) should be able to run either four 4K or two 5K monitors. This is what I've heard. I don't think I'm wrong on this. Especially on the 2017 15" models.

[Ziich47]

in the 15 all four ports have full tb3 capabilities. in the 13 inch the ports in the right have a reduced pci express bandwidth. You can still use any port to do anything you want but just note the the ports on the right hand side of the 13 inch will transfer data at a slightly slower rate that the left hand side. This should not be noticeable in typical day to day usage