23andMe is Struggling -- Don't Panic, Preserve What You Can

So 23andMe the DNA testing site currently is having some struggles. If you have tested there, rather than panicking take some steps to preserve what you have access to today. Just in case.

When you initially got your 23andMe results, we hope you downloaded your raw DNA data. Doing so gives you a copy of the raw data for posterity and gives you the ability to transfer that data to another DNA testing site that accepts uploads. 

Like at MyHeritage which is currently running its rare "Grandfathered In" sales where you can upload your DNA raw data to its MyHeritageDNA site for free and get all the DNA tools for free, forever. The "sale" ends October 8 at 11:59 p.m. See our prior post on this "sale" -- DNA data from AncestryDNA, FamilyTree DNA and 23andMe can be uploaded. The site has instructions to help you. Doing this gets your DNA in another DNA match pool.

How to Download RAW DNA Data at 23andMe.

Didn't download your data at the start? Don't worry there is still a way to do so. Click on your profile name on the top right-hand corner of your homepage, and select Resources from the drop down menu. Then select “Browse Raw Genotyping Data” and then “Download” at the top of the page.

To request your raw data download, you first need to confirm the date of birth associated with the profile you are downloading data for. Once you’ve entered the correct date of birth, and read through the important things to consider, check the box at the bottom and select the ‘Submit request’ button. After you have requested the download of your data, you will receive a notification email within 2-4 days once it's ready to download and view. In order to download your raw data, you will need to verify the profile birth date again.

What else can you do? Download any reports you have if you have not done so already. Take screen captures of any other reports such as ethnicity so you can preserve those for the future. Some topics like ethnicity are presented in several ways. Make sure to preserve each view of it you may want in the future. For your match list and individual matches -- usually the closer ones or the ones of interest to you, screen capture or print to PDF each match when you view them individually. Unfortunately, views of the chromosome browser -- what you share with a match or matches -- is still disabled.

If you were an early purchaser of 23andMe testing kits, you may have archived reports. Instructions for downloading these archived reports is here. Not everyone has these reports. If you do, this help explains the difference between a summary and archived report.

So preserve what you can just in case. And, hope for the best outcome possible for 23andMe.

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LE