SF3 Series CFast 2.0 Pro Thunderbolt Card Reader
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Driver (1)
Firmware (0)
Manual (1)
IDDownload TitleDownload LinkPost Date
1029 SF3 Series - CFast 2.0 Pro Card Reader QSGOct-02-24
 
FAQ (4)
IDArticle TitlePost Date
922 Can I get a longer cable for the CFast 2.0 Pro Card Adapter?Oct-24-17
The CFast 2.0 Pro Card Reader is Thunderbolt certified with only the 0.5 meter 40Gb/s passive cable that is attached at the factory or a Sonnet-authorized service center.

To achieve a longer reach from the computer to the Reader, you may attach the Reader to the pass-through Thunderbolt 3 port of a two-port Thunderbolt 3 device that has a longer Thunderbolt 3 cable to the host computer.

If you absolutely must have a 1-meter cable, and you don't have another device to daisy-chain, then a 1-meter 20Gb/s cable will work. A 20Gb/s cable will not compromise the perfomance of this reader.

Do NOT use a 1-meter 40Gb/s cable under any circumstances. A 1 meter 40Gb/s cable has active electronics, and the power requirements of this reader combined with the active electronics in a 1-meter 40Gb/s cable would exceed the Thunderbolt 3 power specification. Furthermore a 1 meter 40Gb/s cable has a longer connector that will not fit behind the rear panel.

Do NOT use a 2-meter cable under any circumstances. There would be too much voltage drop in a 2-meter cable for this Reader.
 
924 Can I connect the CFast 2.0 Pro Card Adapter to a Thunderbolt 2 Mac?Oct-24-17
Thunderbolt 2 does not have enough power to directly connect a Thunderbolt 3 bus-powered device like the CFast 2.0 Pro Card Reader. However, you can connect the CFast 2.0 Pro Card Reader if you have an intermediate Thunderbolt 3 device in the chain that is wall-powered, for example the Sonnet SxS Pro Card Reader.

Thunderbolt 2 Mac----Apple TB 3 (USB-C) to TB 2 Adapter----Wall-powered Thunderbolt 3 Device----CFast 2.0 Pro Card Reader

Note that the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter is reversable and will support a Thunderbolt 2 Mac and a Thunderbolt 3 device (as well as a Thunderbolt 3 Mac and a Thunderbolt 2 device).
 
1040 Upon connecting the CFast 2.0 Thunderbolt 3 Card Reader, I see an error message "Accessory Needs More Power"Dec-18-18
Your computer does not have 15W available that the reader requires, but instead only 7.5W.

When plugging external devices into a MacBook Pro, the 15-inch and 13-inch models with four Thunderbolt 3 ports will provide 15W only to the first two devices and then 7.5W to the second two devices in the order that they are plugged in, irrespective of port and device type. The 13-inch model with only two Thunderbolt 3 ports will provide 15W to the first device and 7.5W to the second. Try disconnecting all the devices and plug in the CFast 2.0 Pro Thunderbolt reader first.

Some PCs do not supply 15W to all of the Thunderbolt 3 ports. Check you computer specifications for details. Make sure the CFast 2.0 Pro Thunderbolt 3 reader is the first device plugged into the computer.
 
1137 Under Windows, CFast cards are not mounting.Feb-18-21