Why did you initially wish to check out DNA as a household historian? Did you have a stubborn brick wall you wanted to break through? Were you fascinated to learn more about your ethnic culture? Maybe you wished to take that once-in-a-lifetime journey back to the old nation or simply satisfy some new cousins?

Whatever your factors were for investigating your hereditary past, the world of DNA research study is constantly altering and there is always more to find out.

If you have actually only checked with one company, such as Ancestry, 23andMe or FTDNA, you might be losing out on incredibly valuable info that can assist you grow your ancestral tree. In this guide we are going to have a look at how you can publish DNA information (your raw data) to the MyHeritage DNA platform to discover cousins around the globe at absolutely no charge.

Why and How to Use MyHeritage DNA’s Matching Technology
Family History Daily works with many genealogy business to bring you information that can assist you with your research. If you follow some of the links on this page we may earn a charge to support the work we do on this site at no extra cost to you.
How to Upload Your DNA to MyHeritage
Download your raw DNA information from Ancestry (or in other places).
Visit the DNA upload page on MyHeritage.
Follow the simple directions supplied.
View your genetic matches at no charge.
Add a family tree to assist in your research study (optional).
View complete directions for all actions as you check out the guide on this page.

What Makes MyHeritage DNA Unique?
When we remain in the throes of research, we tend to forget that our ancestors left their homeland, but others remained behind. If you are an American who has roots in Europe MyHeritage might be the very best channel back to your immigrant ancestor’s lives. MyHeritage has become in Europe, in numerous ways, what Ancestry is to the U.S. That’s the idea that makes MyHeritage DNA a powerful tool for your research study.

Not just is MyHeritage popular with clients in England, Ireland, and Scotland, however it is also popular in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Nordic nations of Europe. This implies that connecting with genetic cousins on MyHeritage is going to be a very different experience than seeing your matches on Ancestry or FamilyTreeDNA, for example.

 

The good thing is, if you have currently evaluated with another company, you can quickly submit your information to MyHeritage at no cost to see if you have cousins in their database. In reality, you can see all of your matches, and contact them, free of charge. If you would also like access to their Ethnicity Estimate, Chromosome Browser, AutoClusters and other tools you can pick to pay to gain access to these.

How Do I Upload My DNA to MyHeritage?
Submitting your raw DNA data to MyHeritage is easy. Simply visit their DNA upload page and follow the guidelines to get cousin matches and an ethnic background report.
Upload Step 1.
Take a test with Ancestry, FamilyTreeDNA or 23andMe. At this time, MyHeritage accepts data from only these 3 business. For assistance selecting a test, read this guide.
Upload Step 2.
Download the raw data from your autosomal DNA test taken at Ancestry, FamilyTreeDNA or 23andMe. Constantly read the instructions and disclaimers before you finish a download.

How to Download Your Raw DNA from Ancestry.

Sign in to your account on Ancestry and click DNA in the toolbar.
Click on Your DNA Results Summary.
Find Settings in the upper righthand corner.
Scroll down the Settings page till you find Actions and then Download DNA Data.
How to Download Your Raw DNA from FamilyTreeDNA.

Sign in at FamilyTreeDNA and find myDNA in the top toolbar.
Roll over Family Finder.
Click on Download Raw Data in the brand-new menu.
When on the raw information page select Build 37 Raw Data Concatenated.
How to Download Your Raw DNA from 23andMe.

Check in at 23andMe and roll over your profile in the upper righthand corner.
Select Browse Raw Data and accept the terms.
Click the download link near the top of the Raw Data page.
At the bottom of the Download page pick Submit Request and you will receive an e-mail with instructions to download your raw DNA information.
Submit Step 3.
Upload your downloaded DNA raw data to My Heritage by following this link. MyHeritage will walk you through the procedure, consisting of developing a free account or signing into a current account. It is extremely basic and only takes a couple of minutes.

This guide on our website also has a complete, visual detailed walkthrough if you need more aid.
Publish Step 4.
MyHeritage will inform you by e-mail when the results are prepared to see. The process can take a number of days, however normally this occurs more quickly.

At this point you may like to produce a family tree on MyHeritage. Having a tree can significantly increase the likelihood that your DNA information will be useful to your research considering that you will have the ability to see shared forefathers, surnames, locations and more with your matches.

You can either create a brand-new tree or publish a GEDCOM of your current tree at no cost. Help for downloading your current tree so that you can upload a copy to MyHeritage can be discovered here.

When you have a copy, or choose to produce a new tree, try to find the Family Tree link in the top menu bar on MyHeritage to include your family’s info– or read this guide for in-depth aid on utilizing MyHeritage.

Publish Step 5.
As quickly as MyHeritage gives you the news that your DNA has processed, open the site. Then access your DNA Matches under the DNA tab in the top menu.

How to Use the MyHeritage DNA Platform.
If you love puzzles, DNA decoding may just become your most recent dependency. Understanding numerous matches is the key to utilizing DNA in your research.

MyHeritage sorts your list by the highest quantity of Shared DNA to the most affordable. Autosomal DNA covers your family tree with greatest precision to about 6 generations back and this aligns nicely with the time in history when records reduce and brick walls begin to appear in your tree.

With this in mind, you must focus on matches who share 25 cMs or higher with you. This is not to state that matches who share less are fruitless to your efforts– however, simply specified, the smaller the amount of DNA you share the harder it will be to find, or prove, a connection.

Now, let’s get going.

DNA Matches Step 1.

Let’s take a look at your DNA Matches, found under the DNA tab in the top menu. As you evaluate each DNA match, you will find out:.

Their name or username.
Their gender.
Their approximate age.
Their country of house.
Their package manager.
An approximated relationship to you.
The amount of DNA they share with you.
The number of shared DNA sections.
The largest sector of DNA you share.
Their online tree.
Their contact as a link.
In this initial evaluation you might even recognize some close cousins or other member of the family that have actually picked to submit or test with MyHeritage. We suggest you explore these matches initially– specifically if you have a bargain of shared DNA but do not acknowledge the match.

DNA Matches Step 2.
MyHeritage DNA filters.

Access Filters by clicking it in the submenu under DNA Matches (to the right) and a new menu will be revealed.

You can apply filters to your matches such as relationships, locations and ethnic cultures to assist you arrange through your new connections. While this is not needed early on, filtering is a tool that you need to use to assist you group your matches by location and ethnicity as you continue to explore. It will assist you narrow down which branches of a tree a hereditary cousin might match on.

Tree information can likewise greatly assist your efforts if you have an online tree at MyHeritage. These filters can assist you to recognize how this match is associated with you based on data you both have in your ancestral tree.

Here are your options under this filtering category:.

Has Theory of Family Relativity ™– Based on its databank, MyHeritage theorizes how this match is connected to you. Open it to expose their theory. While you will not likely have a number of these, they can be exceptionally beneficial.
Has Smart Matches ™– Connects trees that have the same individual in them that you have in yours.
Has actually shared surname– Connects trees that have the same surname in them that you have in yours.
Has shared location– Connects trees that have the very same area in them that you have in yours.
Has ancestral tree– Connects matches that have trees linked to their account.
Explore this alternative, in addition to filtering, to get a better look at your matches and how they may be useful to your research study.

DNA Matches Step 3.
Sort your DNA matches by clicking Sort By alternative next to the Filter button. This exposes sub-filters that will allow you to begin to group your matches easily.

You can arrange by:.

shared sectors– this is extremely effective to connect matches by chromosome.
biggest sections.
complete name.
most recent– this is helpful for recognizing matches you have yet to review.
DNA Matches Step 4.
Now, it’s time to genuinely collect information on your matches. Start by evaluating just matches with trees, beginning with those people with the most shared cMs.

You’ll see that MyHeritage offers you hints to each match’s prospective connection to you based on shared ancestral tree info (assuming you AND your match have a tree). These ideas will assist you choose who to research study first.

You can see in the screenshot listed below that the top match has no tree and, for that reason, very little information about how they might be connected– but the 2nd match has actually a number of clues based upon shared information. This can be extremely amazing.

Hints to DNA Matches on MyHeritage.

When you determine a match you wish to check out, choose Review DNA Match. In this section, you will find that MyHeritage has actually assembled an actually helpful page filled with information about how you may match with your genetic cousin.

Evaluation Match Page MyHeritage DNA.

As we continue to scroll, as much as 8 private obstructed sections are consisted of with contrast data– consisting of surnames, locations, family tree matches, shared matches, ethnicity (if you have chosen into that) and a chromosome section browser.

You’ll require to utilize this information, together with information you gather from seeing their tree directly and your own research study, to identify how you may be related– and whether you wish to connect to this private to team up, share information or just link.

DNA Matches Step 5.
At this moment, you may want to communicate with your DNA matches. This is an essential action that MyHeritage supports.

Contact your matches with a few requirements in mind:.

Constantly be willing to share your research.
Always specify with your concerns.
Be respectful of other individuals’s time and personal privacy.
Always permit time to process and respond.
If the match does not respond, move on to another match. If you still want to communicate with someone who has yet to react, use to help their efforts or offer to share family pictures– however never contact someone more than two times without response.

DNA Matches Step 6.
In addition to calling matches for shared research, you will wish to do a great deal of your own research. When you recognize an individual that has an excellent amount of shared DNA with you– as well as ideas to an ancestral tree connection– start to figure out how you might be related in more information.

Look for shared individuals in your tree and theirs. If none exist, as is common, try to find other commonalties.

If a match has a surname in their tree that you likewise have (especially if it is in a certain town and time duration) that can be a terrific indication of a potential tree connection. Obviously, it might also be a dead end.

You’ll require to research study this connection and then carry on to historic records to validate details. If your match happens to have forefathers or information noted that you do not, use can utilize this data as clues (either with or without calling your match) to see if it makes good sense for your own tree.

Develop rising and coming down trees by trying to include your ancestor into their tree or adding their ancestor into your tree. Where do connections make good sense? Are you working from realities or simply presumptions? How can you prove your assumptions?

Verify whatever. MyHeritage as billions of records you can utilize (a complimentary trial can be discovered here) or you can look into on another site– however make sure that you never assume the accuracy of another tree. Keep in mind, most of the information you find in online trees was assembled by enthusiasts, such as yourself, and might include errors. Never ever, ever copy from another individual’s tree– however do use info carefully to reveal new possibilities in your research.

MyHeritage’s whole DNA system is developed to help you discover connections, so take some time to get to know each tool and how it can assist you. In general, the best way to discover a brand-new DNA system is to choose a couple of matches and go as far you can in discovering them, checking out possibilities, and confirming information. As soon as you make the effort to do this you will have a lot of the abilities you require to maximize your efforts and grow your tree in a whole brand-new method.

All the best!