Question :

I just got myself a new Mac. Ofcourse, I am using the Migration Assistant to transfer the data from my old Mac to my new Mac, but my new Mac is a MacBook Pro that only has USB-C ports… and my old Mac doesn’t have any USB-C ports…

What is the best way to transfer / migrate my data ? Should I use WiFi or a cable ?

Answer :

You could migrate your data over WiFi, but that is less stable than a cable-connection and therefore usually more time-consuming.

The fastest way would be to use a Thunderbolt3-cable that has a USB-C connector on one end and a traditional Thunderbolt connector on the other… but those are extremely expensive and therefore not worth to buy if you’re going to use it for migrating your old data only.

Your best option is to use a far cheaper USB3.1-to-USB-C-cable, like this one :

AmazonBasics USB3.1-to-USB-C-cable (buy from Amazon.com)

AmazonBasics USB3.1-to-USB-C-cable (buy from Amazon.co.uk)

AmazonBasics USB3.1-to-USB-C-cable (buy from Amazon.de)

Note 1 : such a cable is also included with most USB-C enabled external SSDs, so you might already have one lying around – just make sure that the one you use is USB3.1-compatilbe

Note 2 : if you are considering using a regular USB-to-USB-cable together with a USB-to-USB-C-adapter… don’t do so ! That will in most cases mean that you are making a USB2-connection which is far slower than a USB3.1-connection

Note 3 : if you are considering using an Ethernet-cable together with a USB-C-to-Ethernet-adapter… don’t do so ! An Ethernet-cable is not as straight forward to set up, and most likely it will contain a USB2-maxed component, so it will be far slower than a USB3.1-connection and be far more expensive

enjoy !