Y-DNA33 vs. Y-DNA46

[kkduck]

My brother and I tested through ancestry. I see there is an option here to transfer and upgrade which I am very interested in doing for both of us. It is giving me two choices:

Transfer Y-DNA33 with Y-DNA25 Upgrade
"For customers who have 33-marker Y-DNA results from a third party company..."

or
Transfer Y-DNA46 with Y-DNA37 Upgrade
"For customers who have 46-marker Y-DNA results from a third party company..."

How do I know which one I need? Thanks in advance, this DNA stuff is way above my pay grade.

[MMaddi]

In general, having more markers tested is always better. More markers give a more reliable estimate of "time to most recent common ancestor" (TMRCA).

I think that Ancestry used to offer a yDNA test with either 33 or 46 markers. So, what you can order as an upgrade after transferring your Ancestry results to FTDNA will depend on whether you tested 33 or 46 markers at Ancestry.

[kkduck]

Thanks for your reply MMaddi,

"So, what you can order as an upgrade after transferring your Ancestry results to FTDNA will depend on whether you tested 33 or 46 markers at Ancestry."

That is my question. How do I know which markers were tested? I am certain we took the autosomal test. Does this mean upgrading won't work? Just for clarification, I am female and really had to convince my brother to take the first test, I am not sure I can convince him to take another one.

[MMaddi]

Thanks for your reply MMaddi,

"So, what you can order as an upgrade after transferring your Ancestry results to FTDNA will depend on whether you tested 33 or 46 markers at Ancestry."

That is my question. How do I know which markers were tested? I am certain we took the autosomal test. Does this mean upgrading won't work? Just for clarification, I am female and really had to convince my brother to take the first test, I am not sure I can convince him to take another one.

Ancestry stopped offering their yDNA test about two years ago, if I remember correctly. If your brother's test at Ancestry was more recent, he probably had the autosomal test done, not the yDNA. If all he has is the autosomal test, he can't take advantage of the offer for the yDNA test transfer.

Check your brother's account at Ancestry. Click on the tab near the top for "DNA." That will reveal a menu that includes "Y-DNA and mtDNA Tests." If those tests aren't listed for your brother, then he hasn't had the yDNA test and has nothing to transfer to FTDNA. If he does have the yDNA test listed, then just count out the number of markers listed. It will be either 33 or 46.

If your brother didn't have his yDNA tested at Ancestry, he can order a yDNA directly from FTDNA. There is supposed to be a Father's Day sale soon, so he can probably save some money by ordering then. He will have to submit a DNA sample to FTDNA. Even if he did have a yDNA test at Ancestry and transfers the results to FTDNA, he'll still have to provide a DNA sample to FTDNA to upgrade the number of markers tested.