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Apple’s 2015 Retina MacBooks see their first compatibility update for Multiport Adapters

Gabe Carey
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firmware update for apple multiport adaptor macbook gold 2015 hero
Image used with permission by copyright holder
If you were among those who bought a 2015 12-inch MacBook this past year, you probably had to buy an expensive accessory just to utilize a handful of ports that typically come standard with most laptops. For HDMI output and USB 3.0 input, you could have spent less than $45 on a third-party adapter from Amazon or upward of $75 on a similar product from Apple.

If you opted for the latter, the good news is that your USB-C Digital AV or VGA multiport adapter just received its first firmware update from Apple on Friday, promising to enhance the “compatibility and reliability” of accessories.

Related: See the latest devices from Apple here

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While your hard drive will only take a 205KB hit, there is a short list of steps you’ll need to take to prepare your Mac for the update, according to Apple:

  1. This update requires OS X El Capitan v10.11.4. Use the Mac App Store or Software Update to get the most recent version of OS X.
  2. Plug your USB-C Multiport Adapter into the USB-C port on your Mac. Make sure that your USB-C Charge Cable is connected to your adapter and plugged into a power source using your USB-C Power Adapter. 
  3. Disconnect all external devices (such as displays, thumb drives, and hard drives) and hard-wired network connections from your USB-C Multiport Adapter.

With the adapter plugged in, a small updater notification in the upper right-hand corner of the display will appear, asking whether you want to install now or later. If you choose “Install,” you’ll have to endure a short updater process as shown in the image below, followed by a system restart, which prompts the actual update.

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Screen Shot 2016-04-09 at 3.55.44 PM
Gabe Carey / Digital Trends
Gabe Carey / Digital Trends

While it’s not clear specifically what this update was designed for aside from what was indicated, it could be another indicator that a second 12-inch Retina MacBook is on the way.

Last month, Apple’s System Image Utility and OS X Server applications revealed that a 2016 update to the lightweight notebooks could arrive by the end of April. By all accounts, this compatibility update to a MacBook-specific accessory could be a means of getting ready for that.

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Gabe Carey
Gabe Carey
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A freelancer for Digital Trends, Gabe Carey has been covering the intersection of video games and technology since he was 16…
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