# Article: Can Thunderbolt 3 cables (passive or active) be used in place of Thunderbolt 4 cables?

**URL:** <https://community.startech.com/t/article-can-thunderbolt-3-cables-passive-or-active-be-used-in-place-of-thunderbolt-4-cables/818>\
**Category:** Cables, AV Splitters, AV Extenders\
**Created:** [January 21, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://community.startech.com/t/article-can-thunderbolt-3-cables-passive-or-active-be-used-in-place-of-thunderbolt-4-cables/818 "2022-01-21T13:07:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![malcolm](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex012/user_avatar/community.startech.com/malcolm/32/17_2.png) [@malcolm](https://community.startech.com/u/malcolm)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://community.startech.com/t/article-can-thunderbolt-3-cables-passive-or-active-be-used-in-place-of-thunderbolt-4-cables/818/1 "2022-01-21T13:07:30Z")

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No, the cable Thunderbolt version should match the peripheral Thunderbolt version, since using a mismatched version of Thunderbolt cable can cause unexpected functionality issues. When connecting a Thunderbolt 4 peripheral such as the TB4CDOCK, we recommend only using a Thunderbolt 4 cable, especially if also using a Thunderbolt 4 host device.