Customer Reviews

Apple Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter MB572Z/A (Retail Packaging)

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

My home display uses DVI (which is a far more modern standard than VGA), but I often need this adapter for running presentations. Other reviewers have complained about several problems with this adapter. However, Apple recently released a firmware update, which you can download at http://support.apple.com/downloads/_Mini_DisplayPort_to_VGA_Firmware_Update and run (you must have the adapter plugged in and connected to a display) to solve everything. After that, it should work perfectly.

I bought this for my daughter who is at college and has her own flatscreen TV in her room. She wanted to be able to hook up her Mac laptop to her TV so that she could watch either DVD's played on her laptop or streamed programs from Hulu. She was able to get this hooked up and is really happy with the setup.

No complications or special instructions. I bought it to hook my 13" Macbook Pro (mid-2009) to my 40" Samsung 1080p LCD TV. Works just like it should. I know some people are having a hard time pairing new macbooks with Samsungs using these adapters, but luckily I was not one of them! If you need it, just buy it.

** I bought mine from xcessbuy; the following review MIGHT not apply to the other sellers... But be aware there are knockoffs out there! **

I bought this hoping it would be the official Apple one; but alas, it is a knockoff. This is only obvious when you put it next to the real thing and it's visibly wider and with a longer, cheaper-made cord than the official Apple adapter. But in functionality, you might have problems and I would advise you to rethink risking your money to save a few dollars.

Part of the VGA standard is that devices can transfer an EDID, an identifier telling the computer about the screen's possible resolutions and so on. Some displays do not transfer this EDID; usually they are older, but sometimes this is done on purpose, for example the projectors at my school do not send the EDID on purpose (according to the IT guy).

Why does this matter? The knockoff cable won't detect a screen if it doesn't send an EDID. I bought this for the specific purpose of presenting in my classes, only to find it didn't detect the projector. I went home and it worked on my Dell LCD monitor (it's pretty old) and my little Toshiba TV (I think 18"). The firmware update mentioned in another comment didn't detect this adapter at all because it's a fake; looking in System Profiler, the knockoff's firmware version is "0.00" so it doesn't even pretend to be an official Apple one.

I still needed to hook my MBP to the projectors at school, so I broke down and drove to my local Apple store, where I purchased a real MB572Z/A adapter. I then went straight to a classroom to try it, and it worked flawlessly with the projector system. I double-checked and indeed the knockoff did nothing and the Apple adapter just worked, every time.

I didn't bother trying to return this knockoff cord, I'll keep it for use at home and then use the Apple one everywhere else. But I learned my lesson... In trying to save a few dollars, I ended up wasting money and having to buy the real thing in the end. Don't make the same mistake. Just buy the real thing straight from Apple, unless you know for sure that your screens send the EDID.

(MacBook Pro 17" mid-2010)

Apple seems to be changing their display standards every couple of years or so, and it can be rather confusing to keep up with their latest setups. I recently bought a Mac Mini, and since that machine doesn't come with any peripherals I needed to provide my own. The low-end Mac monitors these days cost almost 40% more than my new Mac, so it would be quite an overkill to get it. Fortunately I have a couple old VGA-connectible monitors lying around, so I decided to use one of these. However, Mac Mini (as well as most new Macs) does not come with an adapter for VGA input, so I needed to buy it separately. The adapter is Mac's own product, and it comes in a very durable yet easy to open package. The quality of the manufacturing for this adapter is pretty high, as one would expect from most Apple products. The only problem that I have with it is that I was unable to screw-in both of my VGA cable's screws, but even without it the attachment works fine. I'd also wish that the price of this cable adapter were lower. I think about half the current price would be fair for this product.

Note, I bought this product from APlusSuperstore. The product that I received is NOT the product that is advertised for sale. What I thought I was ordering was an APPLE manufactured mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter, and I received a knock-off product - not apple manufactured, doesn't even have the apple logo. Its obviously a knock-off because they tried to use all the same colours, etc., but could not go as far as also using the same logo. That really is terrible!

I tried to submit a refund request, but got the message that this requires special handling, so I had to contact Amazon outside of the typical refund process to request a refund.

I had already bought a Venex version from Best Buy, and was actually now looking to buy the real apple deal from Amazon. This is going right back where it came from!

I recently upgraded to a MacBook Pro and needed a VGA adapter. This little device has worked very nicely!

I just got a new MacBook Pro (older i7's) and I needed this to run some presentations. I bought it from Amazon (not a third party fullfilled by Amazon, not a third party, just Amazon) and it arrived quickly using free shipping. I was surprised how easily it worked, even on Windows! It literally is plug and play. Connect the Displayport to your Mac and the VGA cable to the VGA port. Once both are plugged in, the Mac adjusts itself for the best configuration. Easy as that! The only (very) minor issue is that if you shift the adapter around too much, the signal will be temporarily lost, but will restore itself quickly.

I have not experienced any issues after two months of usage. Connections are solid. Recommended for anybody with a Mac!

The price should have given it up, this adapter is not the original one. I compared it to an Apple adapter and this one is bigger. That really is not an issue, the problem is the performance. I have a MBPro 13 inch connected to a 22 inch LG display and from time to time the screen goes dark for a few seconds and another times it flickers a little bit. We bought 2 of these adapters at my office and they both suffer from the same problem. I have used the original Apple adapter with the same set up and nothing like that ever happened.

I got this adapter to connect my MacBook to my 24" Gateway monitor. I wanted VGA because I already have the DVI connection on the monitor tied up with my PS3, and wanted to retain the ability to switch between the two sources.

Well, I was kind of bummed by the performance of this adapter with my MacBook/monitor combo. I'm sure it's not the adapter's fault, but in my experience the MacBook didn't want to output the native 1920x1200 @60Hz my monitor wanted. Instead, when the MacBook said it was outputting that resolution, the monitor's status told me that it was receiving 1280x1024 @60Hz. Naturally, this looked horrible.

I dialed down the output a bit, to 1600x1200, and other resolutions (even 1440x900) and in those modes the output was correct, but I got a wavy, unstable image on my monitor. Sometimes it would stabilize for a while, but it was still not native resolution and thus looked pretty chunky.

A call to AppleCare eventually solved my problem. The solution? I had to use the Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter instead, and use that DVI connection on my monitor. It seems that with the new MacBook the analog output isn't quite compatible with my monitor for some reason. While my previous MacBook handled VGA output with no problems, this one refused to play nice with my Gateway monitor.

My suggestion is to use this VGA adapter only if you have no other choice. If you have DVI available as an option on your monitor, you may want to go with Apple's other adapter, as digital output shines on this MacBook. It's too bad, but new technology sometimes leaves old tech in the dust.

I will hang on to this adapter, though. I may have better luck with other monitors or HDTVs in the future.