FamilyTreeDNA Reviews 

I have had all my family members test with Family Tree DNA and use their applications almost daily (there are no monthly or annual fees once you have tested). The results have opened doors into my genealogical research. Their Y-DNA testing is world class. There is a wide range of surname, Y-DNA and Mitochondrial DNA groups you can join, with outstanding administrators who will help with your research and assist in connecting your results with others you are matched to. The company puts data security as a top priority, and I have never had concerns in that area.

Y-DNA and mtDNA testing
I've been a customer since 2019. I have been very happy with the company. Their website has improved greatly, especially the Y-DNA part. The mtDNA is up next.
The real value is in the Projects. You have experts in all aspects of Y-DNA working on your Y-DNA family tree.

Folks, I feel like a lot of the horrible reviews here were posted by the same person who for some reason has a vendetta against FamilyTreeDNA. I use Family Tree DNA to research all of us in the U.S, England, Australia and elsewhere with the Hersey surname. Yes, you do need to reach out to others to join your surname project and do the BigYDNA test which is pricey. But if you want to find your patrilineal origins there is no better test than the BigY.

I have learned the path of my paternal ancestor over the past thousands of years. And as my distant Hersey cousins do their tests I’ll learn more and more. Google Hersey Family Project and you will learn more. None of this would be possible without FTDNA.

Side bonuses are learning my ancestral makeup, meaning the countries/areas my entire family was from.

Cheers,
Steve Hersey
Alexandria, Virginia,USA

wasted my money they show nothing make me quit look for dna test

When you try to talk to the people at this company they are dumb as hell.they cannot complete sentences to explain the results of your test which should have been included when you received the test

1. Their response to a librarian, library worker, & my inability to post from a desktop computer to a Group Project showed Zero Comprehension 2. In early '24 Unsubscribing to their Unwanted Emails they attempted to persuade me to change my mind. And, Unlike Normal Business Practice they sent an email confirming my unsubscription.

Total waist of money… you can read the other reviews for specifics. This Company promises but is just a scam… I wish I had read the reviews.

Really poor website.
No really helpful for tracing DNA matches and woeful for viewing and a DNA matches tree
I have tried to delete my DNA kit from the site and it is impossible. Cant be done onsite and you need to contact customer service. Still ongoing after 3 contacts and jumping through hoops.
Cannot recommend FTDNA

We were asked to do BigY test through this group by a family member. We purchased a lifelong subscription as there were no options for much less. Sent a kit with upper and lower case vowel and could not get connected for months. No customer service for top dollar charges. We are now going to be unable to build a family tree from September 2024 as they’ve ‘partnered’ with MyHeritage who want hundreds for access to their platform. We have asked for a refund. No response from FamilyTreeDNA. We will be pursuing this! DO NOT JOIN THIS GROUP! Save yourself gross frustration and wasting your money. Appalling on every level.

Horrible website. Essentially a marketing center trying to sell DNA tests. Not user friendly, many key functions never worked in the several months that I occasionally visited. Family surname sites are a joke. Several members and the moderators repeatedly pushed me to get an expensive ($400+) Y DNA test, but would not promise to provide me anything in return. They hoard members ancestry and won’t share it. This site is 100% SCAM.

I went to delete my family tree DNA account there no way to delete my account I look every where on their site to delete my account plus it giving me false information about my family where we were from I am not 100% Europe I am not 76% England and western Europe I gonna stop using their site I know where family was from

I found my connections to my mother’s line that I could never have found without mitochondrial DNA. I love these tools.

I purchased a DNA kit in August 2023 and still have not received it; it has been almost a year. DHL shipped it, but Family Tree DNA could have contacted DHL and charged for the shipping, but they did not. I wrote to Family Tree DNA again on June 19th and have yet to receive any response.

not worth it. autosomal test did not give alot of insight, somewhat inaccurate

Dreadful. Applied for two test kits for which they require two consent forms, but they only sent one. They do not respond to e-mails but direct you to complete an online query form on their website. I repeatedly completed these query forms over several months as no response to my query re the consent forms was received. Eventually I received an e-mail from customer services, apologising, with the excuse that all my completed online forms had ended up in their "spam" box. Obviously they don't check their spam box for months at a time. By then the consent forms had been revised and the one old one was no longer valid. I received an e-mail attachment for me to print out the forms myself. (I do not currently have access to a printer.) I asked them to post me the forms - guess what - no response.
23 October 2024 update
I received an e-mail saying the results were ready, but have never been able to log in to look at them. It's always failed, even though I meticulously enter the passwords etc. given on application.

I concur with the reviews who believe the operation is a scam on the growing interest in DNA tests. A cumbersome service process, poor or less than knowledgeable IT. Things don't upload or downloaded video doesn't play. Direct e-mails to the CEO are blocked. Kicking myself for not finding these reviews first; it would have saved $$$$$! There's enough here to suggest to Mr. Greenspan to issue refunds to all those who have used their customer service system to solve problems.

This form should be: dates (plural) of experience. I'm up to 3 weeks of trying to solve issues. Many days, many contacts, many hours spent waiting for responses.

Very much a poor man's Ancestry.
You get "matches" but there is no way to connect them to you. I have 3,000 "matches" not one of them have any of my family's names. You can't check your "matches" trees, it doesn't say how much DNA you share. Really total waste of money. Haven't learn anything from "family finder"....not sure how you find your "family"
Where I learned so much from Ancestry, nothing from Family Tree DNA. Waste of money.

I ordered 2 DNA kits on 29th january. They were shipped in the day after the purchase and have been stuck on customs in my country since 16th february . On 1st April the package was returned to the sender (Famiy Tree DNA). Since then, I have contacted them more than once through their website, and I have not received any reply watsoever. They still did not refund me. As a professional enterprise, they ought to know that my country has costums issues with biological material, and they shouldn´t even sell it to my country. I`m not supposed to know those rules. I`m the client. So, don`t trust this company. I don`t know yet if they will refund me. That`s almost like stealing. Kit number SM13587

Took DNA Test. All of the results do not match anyone on our extended family tree as well as any results from Ancestry DNA Test. It appears to be a total scam.

I have been trying to request a password reset for years, and it won't work and goes into a loop. I tried some time back and Im trying again but no luck.