Is it possible to connect a laptop to another laptop for data transfer using an USB C to usb A cable?

Solution 1:

The other questions / answers that exist on this topic are typically outdated, and do not consider USB C.

While USB C does offer "Dual Role" mode (somewhat similar to USB OTG), which would theoretically make this possible, it must be supported by the hardware and operating system, not just the physical connector.

As far as I know, Windows does not support device-mode or Dual Role operation, even if your hardware does support it... but I have found this page suggesting otherwise: USB Dual Role Driver Stack Architecture.

Linux does support this and allows you to make use of "USB Gadgets" to present the Linux system to the other device as a mass storage device (MSC), Ethernet interface (CDC-ECM), among others...

As mentioned above however, it is unlikely that even a modern laptop would support this mode of operation (though I'm happy to be told otherwise!). This feature is more commonly found in the chipsets used for embedded devices and phones.