How to Download DNA Raw Data from FamilyTreeDNA
This site requires the fewest steps to get your data and is very simple if you can remember your login and password.
Requirements:
- Know your FamilyTreeDNA kit number and password
- Have access to a secure computer with the ability to store and protect the data if you want an archival copy or delete the data after uploading to another drive or test site
Instructions:
Step 1 – Login to FamilyTreeDNA.com
You need your DNA Kit number or your GAP Username and your password.
I can never remember my kit number and don’t have a GAP Username. (A GAP Username is short for “Group Administrator Page Username” for people who manage Group DNA projects.)
I usually have to go back to my emails, search for “FamilyTreeDNA kit” and find the original email from FTDNA with my kit number. Also, in my case, an FTDNA Kit number is usually 6 digits; if you’ve uploaded DNA from another test provider, that DNA kit number will have a letter in front of numbers.
Step 2 – Select Download Raw Data
You can find a Download Raw Data option on the home page and another under this menu path, myDNA>Family Finder>Download Raw Data.
Step 3 -Select the data you want to download
You’ll potentially have multiple options for DNA Downloads.
If you’re downloading data to keep an archival copy of your results, you’ll want to download all options.
If you’re downloading data to upload to another testing site or a third-party site, that site will tell you which file they accept.
MyHeritage is currently accepting the Build 37 Raw Data Concatenated; GedMatch is currently accepting the Build 36 Raw Data Concatenated.
(“Builds” are reference genomes your DNA is compared to and so far FamilyTreeDNA has used Build 36 and Build 37 as reference genomes.)
Step 4 – Find and Rename the raw data download file(s)
The downloaded file(s) will appear at the bottom of your browser page. Go to your Downloads directory and find the file(s) and rename it/them. You may want to save it/them somewhere other than your Downloads directory.
FamilyTree DNA downloads look like this on the browser page:
FamilyTree DNA downloads look like this in the Downloads directory:
Step 5 – Safely archive this raw DNA data OR upload the raw DNA data to another testing site
If you want to upload this data to another DNA testing site, login to that testing site and follow their directions for uploading DNA from other test sites.