27" inch iMac Thunderbolt Display won't turn on

my 27" Inch iMac Thunderbolt which I have been using as primary display together with my 27" Retina wont turn on anymore. I restarted , unplugged the powercable of the Thunderbolt, still the same. I have had an issue with the Thunderbolt as a primary in the past months which has progressed until it wont turn on today.

I have posted for help here the last time about my Thunderbolt & I hope I can rely again on TS tips. Thanks!



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: 27" Inch iMac Thunderbolt

iMac 27″, macOS 12.7

Posted on Sep 7, 2025 09:01 PM

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14 replies

Sep 8, 2025 05:19 PM in response to Jerser25

If that is a Thunderbolt Display, it will have a set of ports in the back like those shown in this thread:

Can I just get a new cable for my old Thu… - Apple Community


You cannot remove the permanently-attached cable, but you can leave it unused, and run a Thunderbolt 1/2 cable into the port marked with the lightning bolt symbol. Whether it will fix your problem, I don't know, but people have reported that this sometimes fixes things when the problem is that the permanently-attached cable is flaky or bad.


If your Thunderbolt Display has developed logic board problems, that's a different matter …

Sep 8, 2025 09:24 PM in response to Jerser25

Target Display Mode lets certain old iMac act as displays for certain other old Macs. iMacs do not have any cables permanently connected to their Mini DisplayPort or old-style Thunderbolt ports … and you must be able to start up an iMac all the way to the point where you can use it as a standalone computer before you can use the special key combination to put it into Target Display Mode.


Use your iMac as a display with target display mode - Apple Support


A Thunderbolt Display is a standalone display with a permanently-attached hydra cable that has two heads: old-style Thunderbolt and MagSafe. You cannot run programs on one, and there is no special key sequence to make the standalone display act as a standalone display.


Which of the two do you have?

Sep 9, 2025 10:58 AM in response to Servant of Cats

LoL...I was really considering in getting a replacement but MACs aren't exactly cheap to get by. But I tried power cycling it by unplugging the Thunderbolt power cord for more than a min. & then restarted with my Retina. It went on & the connected mouse is lit.

However, I am already wary with this Thunderbolt, replacing it is still under consideration.

Thanks for all the TS Tips. Cheers!

27" inch iMac Thunderbolt Display won't turn on

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