GUIDE How to Enable Thunderbolt 3 Hotplug on macOS

[phyd]

As per your motherboard model, there are total 6 slots. The TB Card will be installed in the Slot #6. Of course, GPU will be installed in the first Slot. It depends on what path the Slot #6 has.

How can I find the path of Slot #6?

Yes, that's correct. In addition, you also need to implement other scope as described in the SSDT implementation.

What's the other scope you're referring to here that i need to implement?

Thanks for your help and patience, struggling a little to follow the guide. Also, Im assuming i'm just following the 'Single Card and Onboard Thunderbolt' instructions as per my setup? Is that correct?

 

[EliteMacx86]

How can I find the path of Slot #6?

Using IOReg. It's already described in the guide.

What's the other scope you're referring to here that i need to implement?

That's applicable if you have multiple TB Cards or if you install it in the non-recommended slots. The other scope has been described in the Multiple TB Card SSDT implementation section.

Thanks for your help and patience, struggling a little to follow the guide. Also, Im assuming i'm just following the 'Single Card and Onboard Thunderbolt' instructions as per my setup? Is that correct?

You're welcome twice! Yes, that's right. All in accordance with Slot #6. If not, move to the multiple card section.

 

[phyd]

Hey @EliteMacx86,

So I'm in the process of updating my SSDT as per my ACPI path but getting an error when trying to compile... please see screenshot. The code i've inserted is as per your guide.

EDIT.
Ignore that, just noticed i hadn't completed the path properly.

 

[EliteMacx86]

Hey @EliteMacx86,

So I'm in the process of updating my SSDT as per my ACPI path but getting an error when trying to compile... please see screenshot. The code i've inserted is as per your guide.

EDIT.
Ignore that, just noticed i hadn't completed the path properly.

Well, it's not as per the guide. On one instance, you're using BR3B and then you use BR1A. Paths must be identical.

 

[OmegaRed1723]

Long story short, I had TB semi-functioning on this build for nearly 4 years with an Alpine Ridge card and nothing else (no kexts, no SSDTs, no config adjustments). Transitioned from Clover to OpenCore in 2020. I used it with two Drobo 8Ds and an OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad JBOD daisy-chained together and also a Samsung X5 External SSD. It was tricky to get everything to mount after a power outage or the like, but once they were working the system could be rebooted or shut down and everything would mount after powering back on. Last week after a shutdown TB became non-functional, and my usual methods of getting the drives to mount were unsuccessful.

As a result, I decided to revisit Thunderbolt from scratch with a Titan Ridge card. I've followed this guide to the best of my ability, but Thunderbolt is still not working on the system. The Thunderbolt-only devices (Drobo/Samsung SSD) do not appear at all in MacOS. They do show up in Windows. The OWC JBOD will mount all 4 drives when connected to either of the TB3 ports on the Titan Ridge Card, but MacOS reports them as USB 3.1 devices. Any assistance would be much appreciated.

Here's the current setup, along with PR attachments:

Motherboard: Gigabyte AORUS Gaming

THB-C Header Availability: YES (5-Pin)​

TB BIOS Settings Availability: YES​

CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K
Thunderbolt AIC: Gigabyte GC-Titan Ridge (rev. 2.0)

Driver: 1.41.1094.0 -- Updated in Windows 10 (system has a separate SSD for Windows)​

Slot on Motherboard: Slot #6 (PCIEx4)​

MacOS Version: Big Sur 11.6.2
Bootloader: OpenCore 0.7.6
Thuderbolt Devices: Drobo 8D, Samsung X5, OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad JBOD (USB 3.1 Gen2, but TB3 compatible)

 

[EliteMacx86]

Long story short, I had TB semi-functioning on this build for nearly 4 years with an Alpine Ridge card and nothing else (no kexts, no SSDTs, no config adjustments).

When the BIOS is configured properly, and as long as a TB Device is attached before booting, it works that way. Titan Ridge works better than Alpine Ridge. Including its HotPlug implementation.

As a result, I decided to revisit Thunderbolt from scratch with a Titan Ridge card. I've followed this guide to the best of my ability, but Thunderbolt is still not working on the system. The Thunderbolt-only devices (Drobo/Samsung SSD) do not appear at all in MacOS. They do show up in Windows.

Both OS are different and when doing a hack, it still follows Windows+macOS rules, combined. Note that any complex functioning, including but not limited to utilizing Docks, requires custom firmware.

Have you ever tried connecting the TB Devices without Dock?

Incomplete PR files attached. In addition, your files doesn't matches your IOReg.

Here are the following issues.

#1. Your BIOS Settings are not as per the Guide. Set Thunderbolt Boot Support to Enabled.
#2. Your HotPlug implementation is still incorrect. SSDT-DTGP is missing. In addition, your IOReg shows PCI0 and you have PC00 in the SSDT-TB3-SLOT-6.

 

[OmegaRed1723]

Have you ever tried connecting the TB Devices without Dock?

No Dock involved -- both the Drobo 8D and the Samsung X5 are plugged directly into the Titan Ridge card. The OWC JBOD enclosure is technically a USB device so it's not a concern for these purposes. I only included it in the discussion because originally it was daisy-chained to one of the Drobos and because the new Titan Ridge card does see it as USB device.

Here are the following issues.

#1. Your BIOS Settings are not as per the Guide. Set Thunderbolt Boot Support to Enabled.
#2. Your HotPlug implementation is still incorrect. SSDT-DTGP is missing. In addition, your IOReg shows PCI0 and you have PC00 in the SSDT-TB3-SLOT-6.

#1: I'll change that
#2a: Funny -- before posting I had it as PCI0, then re-read the guide and had second thoughts about how I should have it configured and changed it to PC00.
#2b: Regarding SSDT-DTGP, I am unfamiliar with that. After reading through some of the posts I found an attachment by that name. I downloaded it, but are there any changes I need to make to the file specific to my system, or just add it to the ACPI folder and reference it in the config.plist?

 

[EliteMacx86]

No Dock involved -- both the Drobo 8D and the Samsung X5 are plugged directly into the Titan Ridge card. The OWC JBOD enclosure is technically a USB device so it's not a concern for these purposes. I only included it in the discussion because originally it was daisy-chained to one of the Drobos and because the new Titan Ridge card does see it as USB device.

Here is one of the things which most of the users fail to understand. Type-C and Thunderbolt are two different things. For example, if you have a Type-C Storage Drive when connecting, it will route to USB 3.1 and will work accordingly and when connecting an actual Thunderbolt Storage Drive, it will route to the actual Thunderbolt and will work with its speed.

#2a: Funny -- before posting I had it as PCI0, then re-read the guide and had second thoughts about how I should have it configured and changed it to PC00.

It all depends on the system!

#2b: Regarding SSDT-DTGP, I am unfamiliar with that. After reading through some of the posts I found an attachment by that name. I downloaded it, but are there any changes I need to make to the file specific to my system, or just add it to the ACPI folder and reference it in the config.plist?

No need to make change for that. Just add it in the directory and add it under your config.plist.

 

[Warbands]

Great write-up, but I had a couple quick questions:

It is noted in the requirements that the following is required:
"Vanilla Thunderbolt kexts in S/L/E"
I am not familiar with what vanilla thunderbolt kexts this refers to and I couldn't see this any other place in the write-up.

There is also mention near the end of the guide:
"For OpenCore:
1. Navigate to EFI/OC/ACPI/patched directory.
2. Place the SSDT-DTGP and the related SSDT-TB3-SLOT-X."

For some reason, I can't click and download the SSDT-DTPG.aml.zip. Is there a lock on new registered members from downloading attachments?

The rest of the guide is straight forward and I have set up my custom SSDT, it is just the 2 other questions that are holding me back.

 

[EliteMacx86]

"Vanilla Thunderbolt kexts in S/L/E"
I am not familiar with what vanilla thunderbolt kexts this refers to and I couldn't see this any other place in the write-up.

It means original/unmodified kext supplied by Apple.

For some reason, I can't click and download the SSDT-DTPG.aml.zip. Is there a lock on new registered members from downloading attachments?

No such limits. You should be able to download it. If having an issue, we'll check it. In the meantime, you can find SSDT on Github.