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I am having a hard time to find the right cable to connect an iMac 2017 (Thunderbolt 3, USB-C) with an LG 27UD88-W. The LG actually supports USB-C input, but I cannot find this kind of cable in the local stores.

Most users with USB-C on their video card or laptop seem to use DisplayPort or HDMI on the other end. I could do that as well with my LG (it has HDMI 2.0 and DP 1.2, yay!), but I would prefer to use USB-C instead.

Am I right to assume that I cannot buy a normal USB-C to USB-C cable? I suppose the normal cables just transport the data for USB and not video, right?

Do the cables I want have a specific name? Is it Thunderbolt 3 to USB-C? Even in the online stores I have a hard time finding it.

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From the LG website:

USB Type-C™ Display 4K video, transfer data and charge a laptop or mobile device, all at the same time using a single cable with USB-C™.

So that would mean there is a USB-C to USB-C cable out there.

Searching for the cable on amazon confirms:

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-CableCreation-Super-Speed-10Gbps/dp/B01FM52776/ref=sr_1_28?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1499721488&sr=1-28&keywords=usb-c&refinements=p_n_feature_eight_browse-bin%3A15562492011

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  • The question is, can I buy any USB-C cable, or does it need some special specification to transport video? Maybe I had hard times to find the cables because stores list them in USB cables only instead of video cables as well.
    – andreas
    Commented Jul 10, 2017 at 22:10
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    USB Type C is a standard. Any Type C to Type C is fine.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Jul 10, 2017 at 22:51
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    I have bought an USB-C to USB-C cable (2m long) with advertised USB 3.1. Guess what, there is no image on the monitor... With the cable that LG delivered with the screen, it works. But it's way too short...
    – andreas
    Commented Jul 21, 2017 at 19:00
  • I've having the same issue as @andreas, I tried a USB-C 10 Gbps cable and that didn't work, I tried a USB-C thunderbolt 3 cable (50 Gbps) and that also didn't work. Only the supplied cable worked and it's too short.
    – Nic Foster
    Commented Feb 6, 2019 at 22:46
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Not just any USB-C cable will work.

LG doesn't specify which USB-C cable specs are required for this monitor in their user manual, however I did see them mention this: DP Alternate Mode(DP over USB-C). I suspect that they require DisplayPort signal over the USB-C cable to transmit video to this monitor. Many USB-C cables do not support DP over USB.

I can't confirm this is the case, I'm dealing with this same monitor currently and have tried a standard USB-C cable that didn't work, and a thunderbolt 3 USB-C cable that also didn't work. But after reading the user manual and finding the mention of displayport over USB-C I did verify that the two cables I tried did not support DP over USB. The only USB-C cord that has worked so far is the one LG supplied with the monitor, but it's too short (1m/3ft) to reach my LG monitor from my computer.

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  • I had the same problems. The USB-C cable with the LG was only 1m and this is way too short if you have your computer under the table. In 2017 it really was a pain to find an appropriate cable. The one that worked for me back then was this one: digitec.ch/de/s1/product/…
    – andreas
    Commented Feb 7, 2019 at 0:17

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