Tick data latency, why a forex chart can show an old price
The short answer
Tick data latency is how long your broker’s price takes to reach your forex chart. A late price means you decide on a price that may have moved. The delay can start at your broker, on the internet or on your computer.
A late tick means your chart shows an old price.
A tick is one price update from your broker. Tick data latency is how late that update is on your chart.
A chart can only be as current as its latest tick. So a late tick means you decide on a price that may have moved.
A tick travels one way, from your broker to your platform. Ping, the time data takes there and back, is not a tick’s age. So a good ping does not prove your chart is current.
For the order side of the story, see what trading latency is.
A late price can start in three places, and you can test two of them.
The table shows each place and who can change it, so you know where to look first.
| Where | What happens there | Can Traders Proxy change it? |
|---|---|---|
| Your broker’s systems | The price is produced here, before it crosses any network. Only your broker can change this. | No |
| The internet between you and your broker | Distance sets the least time the data needs. Lost data also holds up the data behind it until it is sent again. | Only on the connection between our server and your broker |
| Your own computer and platform | A busy computer or platform can show a price late. You can check this yourself. | No |
For the middle row, see how your order reaches your broker.
One lost piece of data can stop your chart, then make it jump.
Prices arrive in order, and a lost piece of data is sent again. If your platform’s price feed works this way, one lost piece holds up everything behind it. On a chart, that can look like a stop, then a catch-up.
The side that sent the lost piece waits about as long as data takes to go there and back. Then it sends the piece again. If that copy is lost too, the wait doubles.
So the farther you are from your broker, the longer each wait. That is how long your chart can sit still before it catches up.
The maths of ping
01
Your broker’s distance sets a minimum time for every order
Light in a cable travels about 200 km every millisecond. Your order goes there and back, so every 1,000 km adds at least 10 ms.
What it means for youPhysical distance dictates your latency floor. Fibre travel times remain constant regardless of routing tools.
minimum there and back (ms) = distance (km) ÷ 100
02
One lost piece of data makes everything wait
When a packet drops, your platform pauses while requesting a retransmission across the full distance. Consecutive drops double this waiting penalty. Incoming price ticks stall during the exact seconds volatility peaks.
wait 1× → 2× → 4× → 8×
03
Our server in your broker’s city recovers lost data locally
Our server in your broker’s city opens the final connection to your broker. On a quiet connection, a repeat loss doesn’t double the wait.
What it means for youWhen a piece is lost near your broker, our server recovers lost data inside that city instead of from your computer.
distance set by physics · recovery in your broker’s city is ours
Try your own distance
Singapore to London is about 10,850 km in a straight line, so at least 108 ms there and back. No order can reach your broker and hear back in less. Real routes are longer.
We don’t promise lower ping because distance sets the minimum. Local recovery in your broker’s city covers only the connection between our server and your broker. The repeat-loss fix covers the first few tries on a quiet connection, after the first repeat try.
A busy computer or heavy indicator can stall your screen on its own, so rule that out early in the news-release guide.
Comparing two views of the same price shows where a delay starts.
You can’t time a tick precisely from your computer. You can compare two views of the same price and see whether they differ. Each step below rules one cause in or out.
A four-step check
- 01
Put two views side by side
Open your platform and your broker’s own web or mobile view of the same symbol.
The two views can differ for reasons that have nothing to do with your connection. Treat a gap as a reason to look further, not a verdict.
- 02
Watch a few price changes
Note which view changes first, and roughly by how much. Write it down.
This shows a gap you can see by eye, not a precise timing.
- 03
Repeat with other programs closed
Close what you don’t need, then compare the same two views again.
Same platform, same symbol, a quieter computer. This tests your computer.
- 04
Repeat on another internet line
Use a phone hotspot, then compare the same two views once more.
Same platform, same symbol, different line. This tests your own internet.
Each result points to a different cause.
Match your result to a row to see what to try next.
| What you see | What it suggests | What to do next |
|---|---|---|
| The gap shrinks with other programs closed | Your computer contributes to the delay | Close what you don’t need, then look at how busy your computer is. |
| The gap changes on the other line | Your own line contributes to the delay | Look at your router, your Wi-Fi and your provider first. |
| The gap stays the same every time | Your computer and line are probably not the cause | It may be on the internet between you and your broker, or at your broker. Ask your broker. |
| You see no gap | Any gap is too small to see by eye | Nothing to chase from your computer. |
Your broker can answer the two questions you can’t test.
- Ask which trade server your account uses, and which city it sits in.
- Ask whether your account uses the same price feed as the broker’s web view.
Our server changes one connection on the path, not the distance.
A backtest runs on your own machine, so no internet link can lose a piece of data during a news release. In live trading, one lost piece holds up every price update and order behind it. Everything waits while your computer sends it again across the world.
With Traders Proxy, our server in your broker’s city makes the final connection to your broker.
Data lost on that connection is sent again within your broker’s city, not from your computer. So a price lost near your broker is sent again over a short distance. Data lost between you and our server is sent again between those two.
So it helps only on the connection between our server and your broker. It does not shorten the distance, and it does not touch your broker’s systems or your computer.
You cannot paste four values into your platform while your chart is already frozen in a live trade. Set it up today while the market is calm. Then time it on your own screen during the next release.
We don’t promise lower ping. Distance sets the minimum. We can’t promise fewer chart stalls, and we have published no measurements.
What a trading proxy is explains the idea in full.
If our server in your broker’s city is unreachable, your platform shows an error and your dashboard asks before using another city. If your broker prohibits proxies, don’t use one.
Warning. Check your broker’s terms
Some brokers restrict proxies. If yours does, don’t use one on that account.
Frequently asked questions
What is a normal tick delay?
It depends on your broker, your distance from it and your own line, and we quote no figure without a source. Compare your own two views instead.
Is ping the same as tick delay?
No. Ping times data going there and back, while a tick travels one way and starts inside your broker’s systems. To time your ping, see how to measure your ping.
Will a proxy change tick data latency?
A proxy does not shorten the distance, so we don’t promise a shorter delay. It changes where data lost between our server and your broker is sent again from.
Can my broker’s systems delay a price?
Yes, a delay can start there. The price is produced in your broker’s systems before it crosses any network. We can’t see inside them or change them.
Why does my chart stop, then catch up?
One possible cause is a lost piece of data. Everything behind it waits for the second try, then arrives together. A busy computer can look the same, so check it first.
Does a late chart mean my orders are late too?
Not necessarily, prices travel from your broker to you, and orders travel the other way. They are different delays, so measuring one does not measure the other.
Field reports · Verified forum threads
Real forum reports, what our system does, and where it stops.
Every quote below links to the forum thread or vendor guide where it appeared. Underneath each quote, see which parts of our system work together on it and where our server stops.
'Old tick' lines in the Journal
“<old Tick> in itself shouldn't be a problem but can be a pointer to break/s in communication with the broker server Check your internet connection for speed (both ways) and packet loss statistics”
Why a proxy does not change this. Traders Proxy changes the route your platform uses to reach your broker. It doesn't change quotes, fills or what your Journal says.
Where it stops. MetaQuotes staff confirm that Old tick journal entries are filtered out by the terminal and logged for information only.
Windows Server update reboots a rented VPS while a position is open
“Hoster can conduct technical maintenance of the servers during weekends (Saturday and Sunday according to EET time zone) for a total of up to 4 hours a day and, if necessary, during weekdays for a total of up to 15 minutes a day.”
Why a proxy does not change this. Security updates install daily. When a server needs a reboot, it happens at the weekend, with each server at its own time.
- Daily security updates, weekend restartsBoundary
Where it stops. Security updates install daily. When one of our servers needs a restart, it happens at the weekend, and a restart drops live connections.
Hotel / public Wi-Fi is flaky, slow or sits behind a login page
“You should not deal with any software requiring some security on a public network.”
Why a proxy does not change this. No claim about Wi-Fi quality. We can't improve a weak or crowded network.
Where it stops. A captive-portal login must be completed in a browser first. Public networks are still public.
MetaQuotes blocks the trader's own home or ISP address with 'No connection' on every server
“Tunneling my internet connection with a VPN made me able to have MT5 working correctly...”
How our system handles it. If your own internet address is the problem, your platform connects to our server and your broker sees our server's address instead of yours.
- Built-in
SOCKS5loginPrimary - One steady addressPrimary
- City switchingSupporting
Where it stops. We cannot clear a block on your own address, and our server address can be blocked too. MQL5.community and Market calls may not use the platform proxy setting.