ADDING atDNA RESULTS TO GEDMATCH

People test their autosomal DNA with various independent companies, so DNA results must be downloaded and put into a common repository called gedmatch.com to compare results from the different companies. Furthermore, unlike other testing companies, ancestry.com in particular does not make specific chromosome and segment data available for comparison on their website. Thus, gedmatch provides statistical comparison tools people who tested at ancestry.com need to use to make valid relationship comparisons.

The directions for how to download atDNA results are on the testing companies' websites, youtube, google, gedmatch and step-by-step ancestry.com directions are below which can be adapted to any of the testing companies. On gedmatch you will have access to your and your family members' matches from all four testing companies, emails for your matches, and numerous comparison tools.

If you have tested your atDNA at multiple companies, follow the process below to get multiple gedmatch numbers, and then consider paying a one-time $10 fee to upgrade to Tier one status for a month and use the tool to combine your gedmatch numbers to create stronger matching results.

 

DOWNLOAD YOUR atDNA RESULTS & UPLOAD TO GEDMATCH

Below are step-by-step directions or you can watch one of the many videos you will find with a google search, such as this Instructional Video.  The total process varies from 15 minutes on up -- depending on how busy the ancestry.com and gedmatch.com servers are, so you cannot do this over a phone. If you begin your download process and take another action on that ancestry.com page, you will not be able to attempt another download until they reset their computer server in up to a week.

Step-by-Step Directions:

  1. Create a folder where you want your ancestry.com DNA results to be saved into on your computer with a name you will remember. Recommend you put the folder on your desktop so it will be easier to find.
  2. Sign in to your ancestry.com account.
  3. Click on your DNA button at the top and select your DNA Results Summary.
  4. Click your settings which is the wheel emblem at the top of the right hand side of your DNA Results Summary page.
  5. Click on the bar that says "download raw DNA data"
  6. Follow the directions to put in your password, etc.
  7. Ancestry.com will send a confirmation email that you must open and accept to proceed with your download.
  8. When you download your results, the name of your DNA results file will be dna-data-2020-(today's date). Save the results into the specific folder you set up on your computer, but do NOT open this downloaded file or it will not be useable for an upload to Gedmatch or any other genealogy website.
  9. Go to Gedmatch to create your free gedmatch.com account. Fill in your name, what name you want the public to see online, your sex and your email and create a password. You only need one gedmatch account for DNA results uploads from your entire family.
  10. To begin your DNA results upload, be sure you are logged in to Gedmatch.
  11. Under Upload Your DNA files for Gedmatch, click on Uploads.
  12. On the next page fill in the name of the person whose DNA results are being uploaded, what name you want the public to see online, the sex, testing company used. When you choose a public name consider that there will be millions of people using initials and DNA Study administrators, like us, are plagued by trying to remember who various people are based on the chosen name as we analyze results. You do not need to answer the haplogroup questions.
  13. You must select a Public category for your account or neither you nor anyone else can use the data for DNA comparisons. This does not mean anyone can download your DNA results, only that your results can be used in comparisons. No one can download your DNA results. If you make a mistake with this setting, use the pencil icon next to the kit number on your home page to change the setting to Public.
  14. You must show you are a US citizen because European laws are different. If you have not checked the correct box for this on your main page under Profile there is a selection to Change EU/Unknown kit status.
  15. Click the box that says "browse" and find your DNA results where you saved it on your computer.
  16. Click the results file (not the folder you stored it in but the actual file name) to select your results.
  17. Click upload. Do NOT leave that page until the page says it is finished uploading at the bottom. The length of the upload process depends on how many other people are uploading results at the same time.
  18. Write down the alphanumeric number provided at the end of the upload; that is your gedmatch number.
  19. On the main gedmatch page on the top right go to User Lookup and type in your gedmatch number.  If it does not work properly, go back to #13 and #14 above and fix those settings.
  20. After the upload, your results will usually be available for comparisons immediately, depending on the number of kits Gedmatch is processing.
  21. You can also add a gedcom of your family tree to gedmatch. Ensure you are the point person for that gedcom and then link the gedcom to your DNA results. Thus anyone who believes they might be related to you can look at your ancestry before contacting you.

Explore the free gedmatch tools starting by putting your kit number into the one-to-many comparison tool instructional video which will show your matches regardless of the company used by your matches for their testing.

 

TWO WAYS TO DOWNLOAD/UPLOAD atDNA RESULTS FOR ANOTHER PERSON @ ANCESTRY.COM

For the first way, the person who took the test has to give permission following these specific steps:

  1. The tester signs in to their ancestry.com account.
  2. Click on the DNA button at the top and select your DNA Results Summary.
  3. Click on your settings which is the wheel emblem at the top of the right hand side of your DNA Results Summary page.
  4. Scroll down to DNA Results Access at the bottom of the DNA Results Access page
  5. Click on Add a Person at the bottom of DNA Results Access
  6. Type in the email address of the person who has agreed to post your DNA results to Gedmatch for you.
  7. Select Manager as their role because Manager is the only role which can download DNA results.
  8. Click on send to deliver the invitation to the person you selected. Your designated person will receive the invitation and accept it.

Another way a person can do the download/upload for you is that you provide them your login and password for the testing site you used. You will have to forward them an email from ancestry.com and from gedmatch.com with confirmation codes.  You can change your ancestry.com password later if you want. The person doing the download/upload must:

  1. Log into the ancestry.com account of the person who took the test and request the DNA results download (process outlined above). Ancestry.com will email a link to the email account of the testor which must be forwarded to the person doing the upload.
  2. When the email is forwarded, log on to their account again and click on the link that says "Confirm your request" and the results will download.
  3. Register a gedmatch.com account for the participant; I usually use the same signin and password the person has used for ancestry.com for their gedmatch account.  Alternatively you can add their DNA results to your own gedmatch account.
  4. Gedmatch will send a confirmation code to the email that was used for the registration, which must be forwarded to the person who will do the DNA results upload.  Use the confirmation code in the email to complete the gedmatch registration.