The news this week is arriving faster than I can write articles!
Today, I received an e-mail from MyHeritage stating that for one week only, from December 11th through 18th, they are offering free DNA file transfers from other vendors, PLUS, no unlock fee for advanced DNA features – ever.
This means you’re grandfathered into all of the DNA tools for the file you transfer during this time, forever, regardless of whether you have a subscription plan or not.
Last year, I checked with family members, then uploaded almost all of the DNA files I’ve tested for people elsewhere. Transferring files to MyHeritage is super useful and has cost me absolutely nothing!
Until today, you either needed to have a subscription (which you can try for free here) or pay the $29 one-time per kit unlock fee for advanced DNA features.
Free DNA Tools
What are the free tools you’ll enjoy in addition to matching?
- Ethnicity Estimates
- Chromosome Browser
- Triangulation
- Viewing family trees and pedigree charts of matches
- Shared in common DNA matches between you and your match
- Shared ethnicities between you and your DNA match
- Shared ancestral places
- AutoClusters
- Theories of Family Relativity which I wrote about here
This timing couldn’t be better, because I have an article scheduled to publish in a few days titled “Triangulation in Action at MyHeritage.” If you transfer now, your results will be ready to follow along by then!
How to Transfer
I’ve written about how to upload TO MyHeritage, here.
MyHeritage accepts DNA transfer files from the following vendors:
- Ancestry, download instruction article here
- 23andMe, all versions including the current V5, download instruction article here
- FamilyTreeDNA, download instruction article here
Click here to begin your free transfer!
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Disclosure
I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.
Thank you so much.
DNA Purchases and Free Transfers
- FamilyTreeDNA – Y, mitochondrial and autosomal DNA testing
- MyHeritage DNA – ancestry autosomal DNA only, not health
- MyHeritage DNA plus Health
- MyHeritage FREE DNA file upload – transfer your results from other vendors free
- AncestryDNA – autosomal DNA only
- 23andMe Ancestry – autosomal DNA only, no Health
- 23andMe Ancestry Plus Health
- LivingDNA
Genealogy Products and Services
- MyHeritage FREE Tree Builder – genealogy software for your computer
- MyHeritage Subscription with Free Trial
- Legacy Family Tree Webinars – genealogy and DNA classes, subscription based, some free
- Legacy Family Tree Software – genealogy software for your computer
Genealogy Research
- Legacy Tree Genealogists – professional genealogy research
Fun DNA Stuff
- Celebrate DNA – customized DNA themed t-shirts, bags and other items
I tried to transfer my full gnome from Dante Labs to MyHeritage I was told no can do.
No, just the files from companies listed.
I am wondering what privacy assurance you have for companies that are not based in the USA.
We have to take the companies we work with at their word regardless of where they are located. There are no legislated assurances anyplace. MyHeritage is a well known firm, long established, and when there was a minor data breach last year, they handled it quickly and perfectly. Beyond that, I know the owner and mist of the management personally and have great confidence in their integrity. They want to stay in business and you have to keep customers happy to do that.
I have done tests on myself with FTDNA, 23 & Me and AncestryDNA. Does this new feature allow us to transfer all three or should we only choose one company to transfer?
I would transfer the one from FTDNA because they use the same chip. You only need one file.
This is fantastic. I’m helping a dna cousin and hope he will let me upload his dna.
Question…. I uploaded kits I managed quite awhile ago but never paid to unlock them. Can I now unlock them for free??
capeirishman@aol.com
Check to be sure they actually need to be unlocked. If you uploaded them before Dec.18, 2018 they should already be free. To unlock them for free, you would need to delete them and reupload them. I’m not sure if they have something in place to detect that, so I don’t know if this is possible.
Does it make sense to transfer multiple results sets? ie. Ancestry AND 123&Me? I’ve already added Ancestry, but am taking the 123&Me Health test as well.
No, there’s no benefit to transferring more than one kit per person.
What are the benefits of having a subscription at My Heritage opposed to uploading and paying the $29 to unlock the tools? I wasn’t going to renew my subscription last month but I was talked into it after being told I wouldn’t be able to see matches or use the tools without a subscription.
You can have a much larger tree and you get the records, which I’ve found very useful. This all makes the Theories better.
I’m not seeing any mention of this offer on their website. Why is that?
It was in their blog.
I see it now, thanks. I’ll still go through your link, to give you credit for making this offer known.
Thank you!!!
I have been trying repeatedly for 2 days to get our son’s Ancestry raw data file uploaded to MyHeritage. It never finishes uploading even after an hour. The nice people at MyHeritage have tried to help me, advising me to try with Chrome, but neither they nor I believe the problem is with MyHeritage. We think it is a corrupted data file, which Ancestry refuses to admit or try to help me with and only tell me to call MyHeritage again. At this rate I will miss out on the free upload offer.
Have you tried the download again from Ancestry?
Yes, several times from the beginning. Always runs over an hour without ever finishing till I just give up.
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Any suggestions on what to try next? I have a MyHeritage subscription, but this offer will expire on the 18th before I get any help from Ancestry, who don’t think it is their problem.
If you have a subscription, you can upload for free anytime. Or you can just test at MH because if the file is really defective, it will probably never work.
Last year, I uploaded my Family Tree DNA data to My Heritage. Today, I ran the cool AutoCluster program. Only three known cousins have data on My Heritage.
My third cousin didn’t show up in any of the clusters, even though she’s my third strongest match in the list. I wonder why she didn’t fit into any of the clusters? Perhaps you could explain.
They eliminate matches above a certain level because someone can’t be in more than 2 clusters, and someone that close would probably be in many. Your siblings aren’t in clusters either.
Kathryn, try using Chrome if you haven’t already. I had the same problem as you. The browser I primarily use is Firefox, and when I tried to upload a kit from FTDNA to MyHeritage it never finished uploading. I refreshed and retried multiple times but it still would hang. I then decided to try uploading using Chrome instead and the kit uploaded fine (it finishes uploading in about 15 seconds). Hopefully that works for you as well.
I uploaded 5 kits during the promotion and and can see all the tools you mention except the theory of family relativity. It’s been over a week and I don’t have any theories across all 5 kits. The kits are of people with colonial ancestry so they have lots of matches. I uploaded my tree which is quite extensive (>10k people), so I’m surprised it hasn’t found anything.
I’m new to MyHeritage so maybe I’m just missing it, but do you know if there any way to link a DNA match with a person in my tree, similar to what you can do at FTDNA?
Thanks for all you do. It’s extremely helpful!
They run Theories of Relativity from time to time, so you might not get any right away. Be sure that the kits you manage are connected to the right person-card in you tree. I wrote about that here: https://dna-explained.com/2019/12/18/triangulation-in-action-at-myheritage/
My heritage does not have a feature like FTDNA does with thier linked people.
Hey Roberta! Could you help understand the better option when uploading raw DNA data to MyHeritage? They offer two options (now that the free period you wrote about is over):
1) Unlock for 36 euros
2) Subscribe (12-30 e/month)
Do you understand the differences? What do you recommend? I’m both interested in comparing my data (from 23andMe) to my wife’s who tested on MyHeritage, and also doing family tree research (uploading a GEDCOM from my dad with lots of info and search for new matches).
Option 3 would be to order a new test kit from MyHeritage (on sale now for 49 e)
Thanks for your great knowledge and input!
The subscribe gets you access to genealogical records as well, along with the DNA tools. The unlock, only the DNA tools. I have and enjoyed the full subscription.