EA not opening trades in MT4, is it your network or your code?
The short answer
When an Expert Advisor (EA) skips trades in MetaTrader 4 (MT4), separate your network from your code first. Check the Experts tab for error codes and the Journal tab for drops. If your EA must run with your computer off, use a VPS, not a proxy.
A missed EA trade can be your network, your broker or your EA.
A fast candle moves during a release, and your Expert Advisor (EA) should open or close a trade. Instead, MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5) drops or shows No connection. By the time the terminal reconnects, the entry price is gone.
You can’t tell at a glance whether your network dropped or your EA stayed quiet. Without checking the logs, you might fix the wrong thing. Then your EA will miss the next release too.
Five checks tell a network drop from an EA rule.
Do them in order, so you don’t change your network for a problem in your code.
Five checks in MT4 and MT5
- 01
Check live trading permissions
Make sure the automated trading button on the toolbar is on. Then check that the EA’s properties have Allow live trading ticked.
What it tells you. If either is off, the EA was never allowed to trade.
- 02
Read the Experts tab at the missed signal time
Open the Terminal window and click the Experts tab. It logs what your EA printed and any error returned when it tried to send an order.
What it tells you. An error code means the EA tried and was refused. The list below says what each code means.
- 03
Read the Journal tab for the same minute
Switch to the Journal tab and check the times around the missed trade.
What it tells you. A connection lost or login line means the session dropped, so the EA could not send its order.
- 04
Check that prices were moving
Confirm that prices in Market Watch were updating during that window. Also check that the symbol your EA trades is in the list.
What it tells you. If prices stopped, the EA had nothing to act on. If the symbol is missing, it can’t trade it.
- 05
Compare with a run in the tester
Run the EA in the Strategy Tester over the same date. The tester runs on your computer with no internet connection involved.
What it tells you. If it skips the trade there too, the cause is in the EA’s rules, not your network.
Each log result points to a different fix.
Find the line that matches your logs, so you know which fix to try.
- Nothing in Experts, and the Journal shows a disconnect at that minute. The terminal was offline. See MT5 keeps disconnecting or MT4 won’t connect.
- Nothing in Experts, and no drop in the Journal. Your EA’s own entry filter blocked the trade. Check max-spread filters, session hours, open trades and your computer’s clock.
- Error 128 (trade timeout). MT4 sent the order and got no confirmation in time. Check your trade history before you try again. See order rejected on timeout.
- Error 129 (invalid price), 136 (off quotes) or 138 (requote). The price moved at your broker. Read requotes on gold and check your EA’s deviation setting.
- Error 134 (not enough money) or 130 (invalid stops). Your account margin, or your broker’s minimum stop distance. Check lot sizing and the contract specification.
The error codes 128, 129, 130, 134, 136 and 138 are documented in the MQL4 trade server return codes reference.
If nothing dropped and nothing was sent, your EA chose not to trade.
If the Journal shows no connection loss and the Experts tab shows no order attempt, your network is not the cause. No connection change will help. Look inside the EA’s settings first.
- A maximum-spread filter that skips entries when spreads widen at rollover or during news.
- A time-window filter compared against a computer or VPS clock that has drifted out of step with Windows Time.
- A rule that allows only one open order per symbol or magic number while an older trade is still open.
- The difference between an every-tick EA and an on-bar-open EA. Read why backtests differ from live.
An EA that must run with your computer off needs a VPS, not a proxy.
If your EA must run while your computer is switched off or asleep, use a VPS. Traders Proxy doesn’t keep a platform running when your computer is off. Traders Proxy or a VPS compares the two.
You can run an EA on your own computer, or inside a VPS. Either way, you paste Traders Proxy into MT4’s or MT5’s proxy setting.
Traders Proxy can help with drops, not with your EA’s code.
This section is for you if your logs showed drops. If the internet loses a piece of data, later updates wait until the missing piece arrives.
Our server in your broker’s city makes its own, separate connection to your broker. Any packet lost on that leg is recovered inside that city.
Nagle’s algorithm is off so small order packets leave as they arrive. When a server’s bandwidth is busy, connections to the ports trading platforms use are sent first.
If your device drops off, our server notices quickly and frees its place, so your platform can reconnect instead of hanging. Your device can reconnect straight away from the same network, up to your device limit.
Why it matters. Your EA isn’t left locked out while the market moves.
Traders Proxy does not fix an EA’s code, local Trade context is busy locks or entry filters. Data lost on your own line is still sent again between you and our server.
We don’t promise lower ping. Distance sets the minimum. If your broker prohibits proxies, don’t use one.
You cannot set up a proxy while your platform is disconnected in a live trade. Paste the four values while the market is calm, before the next release.
Frequently asked questions
Will a trading proxy fix an EA that skips trades because of its code?
No. If your EA’s spread filter, time filter or entry rule decides not to send an order, changing your network changes nothing.
Do I need a VPS or Traders Proxy for an automated EA?
Use a VPS if the EA must run while your computer is off. Traders Proxy does not keep a platform running when your computer is shut down.
Where do I see EA error codes in MT4?
Open View → Terminal (or press Ctrl+T) and select the Experts tab for EA output and trade return codes. Then check the Journal tab for connection events.
Why did my EA open the trade in the Strategy Tester but not live?
The Strategy Tester runs on your computer without network drops, live spread changes or broker rejections. Check the Experts and Journal tabs at the exact bar time.
Can clock drift on a VPS make an EA miss a trading window?
Yes, if the EA compares its time filter with the computer’s clock instead of the broker’s server time. Check that Windows Time is synchronised.
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.
Do you even need a monthly Windows VPS if you trade by hand on your own screen?
“Rent hosting on a long-term basis to get up to 33% discount. Mini 1 month 15 USD per month”
How local trading avoids it. If you trade by hand on your own screen, paste four values into your platform instead of renting and maintaining a remote Windows desktop.
- Platform stays on your own computerPrimary
- Built-in
SOCKS5loginSupporting
Where it stops. If you run a robot while your computer is off, you still need a machine that stays on. On a Mac, you still need a Mac build of your platform.
cTrader picks a far or 'wrong' Spotware proxy and the trader cannot choose (Sydney-3, Netherlands, Jakarta-2, London-6 from Korea)
“cTrader automatically connects to the fastest one, you do not need to do this manually.”
Why a proxy can backfire here. cTrader for Windows has a proxy setting and Traders Proxy supports it over HTTP. cTrader still chooses its own servers.
- Built-in
HTTPproxy loginBoundary
Where it stops. In cTrader on Windows, the Connection proxy setting routes your connection to Spotware’s cloud. Spotware still picks its own cloud node on the far side.
Shared server address where a broker block affects every account on that server
“There are some vps providers that are actively blocked due to suspicious activies happening by the providers in past.”
Why a proxy can backfire here. Your broker sees one steady address, our server’s, shared by people on a Traders Proxy plan in that city.
- One steady addressBoundary
- City switchingSupporting
Where it stops. Our server address is shared by people on a Traders Proxy plan in that city. Switch city in your dashboard if a broker blocks that address.
MetaTrader's own proxy setting fails on some builds or setups
“MT5 doesn't support SOCKS5 natively. This bridge sits between MT5 and V2rayN”
Why a proxy can backfire here. Use SOCKS5 or HTTP, whichever your platform offers.
- Built-in
SOCKS5loginBoundary - Built-in
HTTPproxy loginBoundary
Where it stops. Use the platform's own Test button. If it fails, the fault is in the platform's proxy support. Not SOCKS4. IPv4 only.