AncestryDNA Genetic Test Kit: Personalized Genetic Results, DNA Ethnicity Test, Origins & Ethnicities, Complete DNA Test

Great tester. Easy to use results came back pretty quick.

If you've been doing family history for any length of time and have reasonably comprehensive family tree, then you'll probably find this test very useful.To get the most out of this test you'll need to also buy an Ancestry subscription of some sort. Don't rush into this, since you'll probably be offered a decent discount at some point, once you've got you DNA results.There are two elements to the results, namely your Ethnicity Estimate and your DNA Relatives.As the name suggests your Ethnicity Estimate is a best guess at who where your immediate ancestors most likely came from. My partner and I both have British and Irish ancestry for at least 5 generations, so no surprises there, although the estimates are very accurate. To my surprise they picked out South Sutherland on my side and Durham on my partners side - both very small areas and both correct. All other areas were correct too and my (recent ethnicity) was spot on - slightly more English and the Scottish, with a bit of Irish. This element is more about fun than serious genealogy.The other part of the test is to help you find close DNA relatives and confirm any family tree you might have. You get these results no matter what, but to get the most of them you'll need at least basic family tree built on Ancestry and an Ancestry Subscription (UK was okay for me, but an International one may be more useful for some).Ancestry have done a decent amount of work on this recently, an it's DNA hints are getting very useful and seem very accurate. My partner now has 80+ confirmed relations (ie. their tree matches up with yours at some point). This have allowed us to confirm almost all branches of our trees back to 3rd great grandparents and beyond (including one 8th Cousin!). No need to contact any of your matches unless you want to!We've also 23andme tests and used MyHeritage - both useful but nothing like as helpful as Ancestry.I'd recommend this product.

Not as good as I thought it would be every step costs too much money

Very easy to use kit. Got results more quickly than the 6 to 8 wks promised. Was kept up to date at each stage. Sample received, sample being analysed etc. Found it fascinating to get my results and see the breakdown of my origins. Very interesting to view so many relatives. Divided into close family (5), extended family (45) and distant family (countless). You also get 3 free traits, in an attempt to sell you the rest. You can purchase traits at the outset by buying the more expensive test (probably the same one). I should point out that if your main reason for doing the test is to trace ancestors and work on family trees, then there are hidden costs. You have to subscribe, which you can do for various levels of membership. Also, the site is difficult to navigate and not at all user friendly. These are my reasons for 4 stars rather than 5.

These Ancestry DNA kits are great value when they are offer from Amazon especially as the postage is included.Remember to note the activation code and activate the kit on Ancestry before posting!

Most of my family and various in laws have tested with Ancestry now. My wife found out via ancestry that one great grandfather and one great great grandfather were someone completely different than recorded and known by the family. She also found via ancestry that another great grandfather had a whole extra family after her great grandmother died young and was able to trace several living children and grandchildren of the resulting half great uncles and aunts, who she is now in touch with on a fairly regular basis. On my side we found a close family friend of many years' closest match was my grandma and then my mum was also a very close match, we had no idea she was related so that was a nice surprise. My wife has also done 23andme but functionality on there is a lot more limited and there are far fewer UK users. So would recommend Ancestry more. It is cheaper to order from Amazon as opposed to from the Ancestry site, as from the Ancestry site tests are shipped from Germany which costs quite a bit extra per test and it can take up to three weeks to arrive. I had already used Ancestry for general genealogy purposes since the mid-noughties so had full membership already, which covers unlimited use and functionality of the DNA 'portal' and tools. As others have said the Ancestry matches tools are not the best and are lacking compared to other sites. Also Ancestry is either unavailable or is simply just not popular in most European, Asian and African countries so if your ancestry is not mainly from the UK you won't have many matches and are likely to have a less detailed ethnicity estimate. It is possible to upload your raw data to other sites except for 23andMe and I would recommend this, but make sure you read up on the sites and their reputation for data protection and transparency first. My Heritage are particularly good for matches with many tools Ancestry don't have and a much more user friendly layout, though their ethnicity estimate is highly inaccurate for most users and should be read for comedy value only.