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General => Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing => Topic started by: Steve3180 on Thursday 05 February 26 19:53 GMT (UK)
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Can anybody confirm my suspicion that I have to take out a yearly subscription to view my full dna results, in particular matches in common and matches' trees.
I recently did a MyHeritage test out of curiosity over the whole genome sequencing and how it would differ from the Ancestry test I uploaded years ago. I remember, vaguely, that at some point MH moved part of my results behind a paywall and that I paid a one off fee to unlock them.
I had assumed that paying for their own test would give me access to my results, but I received them today and apparently not. I can find no mention anywhere on their site of a one off fee, just yearly subscriptions. I had one of those years ago and it was fairly useless, almost nothing that wasn't already on FamilySearch for free and I don't really want one now.
Are there any other ways to view the full results without taking out a subscription ?
PS
What happened to download dna match list ?
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I’ve recently discovered that My a heritage have made some changes, so I’ll leave it someone with more knowledge to answer your question.
But can I just ask, do you still have full access to the features you paid the one off fee for?
Many years ago I uploaded my FTDNA raw data to My Heritage. At that time all features were free.
I consequently uploaded a couple of other tests’ raw data, also from FTDNA, for which I had to pay a one time fee to unlock all the features.
I will be interested in the replies you get because I am concerned that My Heritage are following the Ancestry model, changing the goalposts,and gradually asking for payment for features which used to be free.
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Ruskie - Yes I still have access to the shared matches and trees of dna matches.
I remember having the access originally, then they took it away and I had to pay £19 to get it back. But that option doesn't seem available now for this new dna kit.
This is all from memory but it's what I recall.
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The ability of MH to restrict/remove options without notification and then stonewall users is almost legendary. The sudden block to 3rd party uploads is arguably the most obvious example though the match list download option was disabled around the time of the 23&Me security breach and neither reduction in features has been properly acknowledged by MH.
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I ordered a £29 test last week, it is supposedly now in the post.
There is a 30 day subscription free period which expires on the 4th March after which a subscription is due.
Pretty pointless from my point of view having a free period which starts when the order is placed and not when the results are in.
There does not seem a way to pause with the subscription being due before my results are back.
Their AI bot has a low IQ, and when Live Person was entered it stopped responding and closed the chat with the message that an agent would be in touch via my eMail address.
Now I just cancelled the subscription free period and was immediately offered an annual subscription for £57.
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I ordered a £29 test last week, it is supposedly now in the post.
There is a 30 day subscription free period which expires on the 4th March after which a subscription is due.
Pretty pointless from my point of view having a free period which starts when the order is placed and not when the results
There does not seem a way to pause with the subscription being due before my results are back.
Their AI bot has a low IQ, and when Live Person was entered it stopped responding and closed the chat with the message that an agent would be in touch via my eMail address.
Now I just cancelled the subscription free period and was immediately offered an annual subscription for £57.
In my experience, if you turn that offer down, you’ll get a phone call, offering a further much reduced offer 😉😊
I uploaded to My Heritage years back, when it was free to do so. However, when I uploaded my husband and daughter’s tests, I had to pay an unlocking fee of £36 each.
When My Heritage offered a DNA test with whole genome sequencing, I took up the offer and returned my kit to them in early January. I’ve heard nothing since, but when I logged on yesterday, it said that my Ethnicity Estimates had been updated. I don’t know if this is a generalised update, applying to everyone, or if it reflects my new test results?
Has anyone else on here had an info re: genome sequencing?
Romilly.
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Romilly, I just got my whole genome results, there were slight differences on my ethnicity, but of course I don't pay much attention to that anyway. My 20th highest DNA match disappeared, I'd previously had a test eight or nine years ago, and I got a new one in my top 20. Some of them had slightly changed in their order, mainly below the tenth highest. Some small segments had disappeared from my top matches.
Zaph
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That’s interesting Zaph!
Did you get any sort of notification from MH that your results were in?
I sent my kit in on the 4th January, and so it might still be too soon for me still?
Was the genome sequencing part of any use?
Romilly.
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Romilly - I sent my test on the 8th Jan., got an email to say they'd received it on the 20th and another to say the results were ready on 5th Feb. Also during the process on my MyHeritage Home page I could track the process through several stages of extraction, testing etc.
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Romily, check on the DNA menu, manage kits, track. I also got about 400 new matches. I think it's too soon to know about the WGS aspect. And yes, I got an email. About 5 weeks after posting.
Zaph
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Thanks both. I’ve had no message to say it’s been received as yet. Hopefully something will turn up soon! 🤞
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Check the status, it will help.
Zaph
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I logged on and checked the status of my MH DNA KIT. it's been activated, but doesn't aeem to have been recieved as yet... I hope that it hasn't got lost in the post!
Romilly.
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Romilly, I posted mine, in England to a consolidation address in Walsall. I posted it at the very very end of December. Everybody seems to get anxious about their results, but the impression I get is that very very few go astray. The attraction of whole genome sequencing, plus Christmas, will mean it's a busy time for them, but that is effectively after it gets delivered to them. Perhaps I was lucky, with the consolidation. If they only did it once a month that could make a big difference.
Zaph
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The ability of MH to restrict/remove options without notification and then stonewall users is almost legendary. The sudden block to 3rd party uploads is arguably the most obvious example though the match list download option was disabled around the time of the 23&Me security breach and neither reduction in features has been properly acknowledged by MH.
I had that experience with Ancestry. Without an annual subscription I can only see three of my DNA matches whereas I used to be able to see all of them. Every feature seems to be behind a pay wall.
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The ability of MH to restrict/remove options without notification and then stonewall users is almost legendary. The sudden block to 3rd party uploads is arguably the most obvious example though the match list download option was disabled around the time of the 23&Me security breach and neither reduction in features has been properly acknowledged by MH.
I had that experience with Ancestry. Without an annual subscription I can only see three of my DNA matches whereas I used to be able to see all of them. Every feature seems to be behind a pay wall.
Ancestry weren't charging for the original basic match list and the introduction of Pro-Tools did add additional features beyond what had been available previously.
MH can remove/disable features and access to them (including DNA results and one off 'lifetime' purchased items like DNA Tools), 'for any or no reason, with or without prior notice, and without liability'.
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MH’s response to a query.
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I understand that you wish to pause your free trial until your DNA results are ready.
Note that the free trial was active since the moment you purchased your DNA kit and can't be paused.
Also note that a free trial is not necessary for you to receive DNA results. and was not designed to that. Although this trial allows you to use the DNA Advanced Tool with your DNA Results, this free trial is designed to be used while you wait for your DNA Results as it will allow you to add an unlimited number of individuals to your family website, use features such as Smart Matches and Instant Discoveries, apply most of the groundbreaking MyHeritage photo tool, full access to our billions of easily searchable historical records from across the globe and will allow you to extract the information you find in them to your tree.
Without a free trial or subscription, you will receive your DNA Matches and your Ethnicity estimate and you will be able to access them always.
If there is anything else I can assist you with, please let me know.
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MH’s response to a query.
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I understand that you wish to pause your free trial until your DNA results are ready.
Note that the free trial was active since the moment you purchased your DNA kit and can't be paused.
Also note that a free trial is not necessary for you to receive DNA results. and was not designed to that. Although this trial allows you to use the DNA Advanced Tool with your DNA Results, this free trial is designed to be used while you wait for your DNA Results as it will allow you to add an unlimited number of individuals to your family website, use features such as Smart Matches and Instant Discoveries, apply most of the groundbreaking MyHeritage photo tool, full access to our billions of easily searchable historical records from across the globe and will allow you to extract the information you find in them to your tree.
Without a free trial or subscription, you will receive your DNA Matches and your Ethnicity estimate and you will be able to access them always.
If there is anything else I can assist you with, please let me know.
And with that reply MH stretch their lead in the race to the bottom.
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MH’s response to a query.
.
.
I understand that you wish to pause your free trial until your DNA results are ready.
Note that the free trial was active since the moment you purchased your DNA kit and can't be paused.
Also note that a free trial is not necessary for you to receive DNA results. and was not designed to that. Although this trial allows you to use the DNA Advanced Tool with your DNA Results, this free trial is designed to be used while you wait for your DNA Results as it will allow you to add an unlimited number of individuals to your family website, use features such as Smart Matches and Instant Discoveries, apply most of the groundbreaking MyHeritage photo tool, full access to our billions of easily searchable historical records from across the globe and will allow you to extract the information you find in them to your tree.
Without a free trial or subscription, you will receive your DNA Matches and your Ethnicity estimate and you will be able to access them always.
If there is anything else I can assist you with, please let me know.
And with that reply MH stretch their lead in the race to the bottom.
Being very generous and a wee bit optimistic there Glen 😎
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I half hoped when I started this thread that someone would actually have an answer to accessing my dna results, a hidden way to pay a one off fee or some such. From the lack of suggestions I must assume there isn't one and the only way is via a subscription.
Seems to me that the whole cheap dna test thing is just a bait and switch scheme to get people to sign up to a subscription. Without access to the shared matches and trees then what you get is just a list of names. Without being able to download this list of names I can't compare this test to the earlier imported Ancestry one unless I want to do it by hand, one at a time. So the whole thing has been, mostly, a waste of time.
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The 23&Me data breach took place in Sep 2023, MH responded by withdrawing the match list download option in Oct 2023.
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I did a test with Ancestry a couple of years ago and uploaded the results to MyHeritage.
The few matches that repeated Ancestry matches had considerably higher cM values.
Then there were hundreds of unknown people. Many of the names looked Jewish.
I know MyHeritage is an Israeli company, but I do not believe I have any Jewish ancestry.
Conclusion: forget MyHeritage!
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I half hoped when I started this thread that someone would actually have an answer to accessing my dna results, a hidden way to pay a one off fee or some such. From the lack of suggestions I must assume there isn't one and the only way is via a subscription.
Seems to me that the whole cheap dna test thing is just a bait and switch scheme to get people to sign up to a subscription. Without access to the shared matches and trees then what you get is just a list of names. Without being able to download this list of names I can't compare this test to the earlier imported Ancestry one unless I want to do it by hand, one at a time. So the whole thing has been, mostly, a waste of time.
Ancestry do lots of special and shorter term offers. There’s a thread on here dedicated to this very subject.
Plus, most Public Libraries offer free access to Ancestry and FindMyPast on Site.
And you can always request look ups on here.
Romilly.
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Those two different companies use different algorithms, and different source data. I've been tested with both companies, and while there are differences, they do generally correspond. Anyone serious about DNA research would do themselves a favour by being tested by both. Denying your Jewish ancestry, when it has been discovered via DNA makes me think that you should do more research into the whole process. It would be time well spent. There are some very good films on the internet.
The only exception would be if the Jewish ancestry was only a very small trace.
Zaph
I did a test with Ancestry a couple of years ago and uploaded the results to MyHeritage.
The few matches that repeated Ancestry matches had considerably higher cM values.
Then there were hundreds of unknown people. Many of the names looked Jewish.
I know MyHeritage is an Israeli company, but I do not believe I have any Jewish ancestry.
Conclusion: forget MyHeritage!
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If I had Jewish ancestry it would have shown up in the Ancestry results.
Why does Ancestry show me as related to many known cousins, MyHeritage to none?
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If I had Jewish ancestry it would have shown up in the Ancestry results.
Why does Ancestry show me as related to many known cousins, MyHeritage to none?
Not everyone tests on the same Site?
Romilly.
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If I had Jewish ancestry it would have shown up in the Ancestry results.
Why does Ancestry show me as related to many known cousins, MyHeritage to none?
Give it time and it may well do just that.
Our test result admixtures show very little similarity 5 years ago to today.
In another 5 years who knows what will show.
My Heritage will be at about 7,000,000 tests, Ancestry about 30,000,000.
It also depends upon where ones origins are and the number of tests analysed in those areas.
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I did a test with Ancestry a couple of years ago and uploaded the results to MyHeritage.
Many of the names looked Jewish.
I know MyHeritage is an Israeli company, but I do not believe I have any Jewish ancestry.
Conclusion: forget MyHeritage!
I think there are a lot of Jews who have non-Jews in their ancestry. So they could be related to you even if you have zero Jews in your ancestors. Non of us are pure bred.
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Yes, normally these days for new MyHeritage DNA kits one needs to have some sort of MyHeritage subscription in order to see more than one shared match per match. I'm really angry as this was not made clear when I recently bought a new kit to support them with the roll out of full genome sequencing.
To make matters worse for mugs like me, currently some 'influencers', including Diahan Southard and Roberta Estes, have been given a special coupon code for use in February 2026 that apparently provides both a discounted kit price AND access to the full set of DNA tools (for which a subscription would normally be required). Diahan's code is DiahanFeb26 and Roberta's coupon code is RobertaFeb26
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If I had Jewish ancestry it would have shown up in the Ancestry results.
Why does Ancestry show me as related to many known cousins, MyHeritage to none?
Do you have German or other European ancestry? Maybe the Jewish DNA could creep in there? I have something like 9% Jewish DNA, and I know that came from a 2xgreat grandmother.
A lot of people with Jewish ancestry take DNA tests, and a lot of those test with My Heritage. I’ve observed that MY Heritage appears to be a popular test for Europeans in general.
The majority of matches I get in My Heritage connect via my relatively small amount of Jewish DNA which I suspect as a result of the large numbers of Jewish testees. Higher numbers = more matches.