Family Tree Maker won't sign in to Ancestry
If the same password works on the Ancestry website but not in Family Tree Maker, the account is fine. The problem is a stale credential saved on your computer. Windows keeps these in Credential Manager, and the program keeps offering the old one. Clearing it fixes most sign-in loops.
- Applies to
- FTM 2024 · 2019 · 2017 · 2014
- Platform
- Windows & Mac
- Time
- ~30 min
- Updated
Your tree is not affected by this. Signing in is only needed for syncing and record hints. Family Tree Maker works perfectly well without it, so you can keep building and editing your tree while you sort this out. Frustrating, not urgent.
Which of these is happening?
| What you're seeing | Most likely cause | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| Asked for the password over and over | Stale saved credential | Step 2 |
| Sign-in window opens and closes in a loop | Two-factor authentication, or a stale credential | Steps 2–3 |
| Browser says "Ancestry user is authenticated" but the program keeps asking | Two-factor authentication. This is the signature. | Step 3 |
| "Incorrect password" but it works on the website | Saved credential, or security software | Steps 2 & 5 |
| Nothing happens when you click sign in | Firewall or antivirus blocking it | Step 5 |
| Signs in fine, then the sync stalls | Not a sign-in problem at all | Sync guide |
Nobody legitimate needs your Ancestry password to fix this. Not us, not anyone who telephones you about it. Every step below is something you do yourself, typing your own password on your own machine. Be especially wary of anyone offering to "verify your account" while you're already locked out — that's exactly when people are most easily caught.
Step 1 — Test the account itself first
Do this first Rules out half the possibilities in a minute
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Open a web browser and sign in to Ancestry directly.
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If that fails, the problem is the account: a changed password, a lapsed subscription, or a lockout. Nothing on your computer will fix it, and it's a matter for Ancestry rather than for us.
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If it works, the account is fine and the fault sits between Family Tree Maker and the sign-in service. Carry on.
Step 2 — Clear the saved credential
Fixes most cases Windows Credential Manager
This is the step almost no guide mentions, and it's the one that usually works. Windows stores saved sign-ins in Credential Manager. When the entry for Family Tree Maker goes stale, the program keeps submitting a password that no longer works, then keeps asking you for it when that fails.
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Close Family Tree Maker completely.
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Open Credential Manager from the Windows search box.
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Look through the saved credentials and remove every Family Tree Maker entry you find. Several entries often exist.
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Reopen Family Tree Maker and sign in fresh. With nothing stale to reuse, it has to ask properly, and that usually succeeds.
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On a Mac, the equivalent store is Keychain Access. Remove the Family Tree Maker entries there instead.
Step 3 — Two-factor authentication
A diagnostic, not a fix Test it, then turn it back on
People troubleshooting a persistent sign-in loop frequently find two-factor authentication is involved, particularly on older versions that can't complete the second step. It is worth testing, carefully.
Don't leave two-factor authentication switched off. Plenty of pages tell you to turn it off and stop there. Your Ancestry account holds names, dates and living relatives' details, so it is worth protecting. Use this to identify the cause, then turn it back on and solve the underlying problem by updating the software instead.
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If two-factor authentication is enabled on your Ancestry account, turn it off temporarily and try signing in again.
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If that works, you have found the cause. The real fix is updating Family Tree Maker so it handles the second step properly.
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Turn two-factor authentication back on once you've finished testing, whatever the result.
The sign-in that reports success and still fails
One pattern identifies two-factor authentication before you test anything. It looks like this:
You type your Ancestry username and password into Family Tree Maker.
A browser window opens and displays "Ancestry user is authenticated."
Family Tree Maker's sign-in box stays on screen and never closes. No hints appear, and syncing stays unavailable.
Signing in to Ancestry directly in the same browser works perfectly.
That combination is the fingerprint. The authentication itself succeeded, and the handover back to the program failed at the second step. Genealogy communities have traded this fix for two years, and users confirm it across FTM 2019 builds and later. Go straight to Step 3, and read the warning there before you change anything.
Hints that appear, then disappear again
A related symptom catches people during Ancestry service problems. Green leaf hints show normally, then vanish across the whole tree twenty minutes later.
Quitting Family Tree Maker and reopening it once the automatic backup finishes brings the hints back. They disappear again after a while, so treat this as a way to keep working during an outage rather than a repair. Check the Sync Weather indicator first: red or orange explains it, and the fix belongs at Ancestry's end.
Step 4 — Update the software
The proper fix Sign-in methods change over time
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Get the latest free update for your edition from the publisher's Update Center or its update email, close Family Tree Maker, and run the updater. Then confirm the new build under . On FTM 2019 for Windows, build 24.2.2 fixes the known Ancestry sign-in fault.
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Authentication methods get tightened periodically. A release from several years ago can simply lose the ability to sign in, through no fault of yours.
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This is the correct answer to a two-factor problem: the software catching up, rather than your account security going down.
Step 5 — Security software
Silent blocker Nothing happens when you click
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Add Family Tree Maker as an exception in your firewall and antivirus.
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Suspect this particularly if the sign-in window does nothing at all, or if the trouble started after you changed security software.
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Corporate or school networks often block this outright. If you're on one, try a home connection to confirm.
Step 6 — Reauthorise the connection
Last resort Issue a fresh authorisation
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Back up your tree before changing anything to do with the sync relationship.
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Find the sync or TreeSync options in Family Tree Maker and reauthorise the connection to Ancestry. That issues a fresh authorisation instead of reusing the one that's failing.
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You'll be asked to sign in again — which is the point.
If none of these worked
- Try a different Windows or Mac user account. If it signs in there, the fault is in your user profile rather than the installation. See the startup guide, which covers the same technique.
- Account matters go to Ancestry. Lockouts, subscription problems and password resets are theirs, not ours and not the software publisher's.
- Carry on working offline. None of this stops you using your tree.
Still stuck in a sign-in loop?
We'll work through it on a screen-share, and you type your own password, out of our view, as always.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Family Tree Maker keep asking for my Ancestry password?
Because the credential it has stored is no longer valid and it can't save a working replacement. On Windows those live in Credential Manager, and a stale entry makes the program present an old password repeatedly. Removing the saved entries and signing in fresh fixes most cases.
My password works on the Ancestry website but not in Family Tree Maker. Why?
That tells you the account is fine and the fault sits between the program and the sign-in service. Usually a stale saved credential, security software blocking the connection, or a version too old to complete the current sign-in process.
Does two-factor authentication stop Family Tree Maker signing in?
It can, particularly on older versions, and people troubleshooting a loop often find it's involved. Treat it as a diagnostic test rather than a permanent fix. Leaving it off weakens an account holding a lot of personal family information.
Is a sign-in problem the same as a sync problem?
No, though they're easily confused. A sign-in problem stops you connecting at all. A sync problem means you're connected but the transfer fails. If you sign in fine and the sync then hangs, that's a different fault.
Will anyone from support ever need my Ancestry password?
No. No legitimate support service asks for an account password, including for a sign-in problem. Everything needed here can be done with you typing your own password on your own machine, out of anyone else's view.
Can I use Family Tree Maker without signing in to Ancestry?
Yes. Signing in is only needed for syncing and record hints. The software builds and edits trees perfectly well offline, so this is frustrating rather than urgent. Your research stays fully accessible while you sort it.