MT4 keeps disconnecting on a VPS, how to find the cause
The short answer
When MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5) keeps disconnecting on a VPS, your home internet is not the cause. The drop is between the VPS and your broker’s server. Check the Journal tab inside the VPS, then run a ping and tracert.
A VPS removes your home line, not the internet between the VPS and your broker.
A fast candle moves during a release. You check your Virtual Private Server (VPS) and see MT4 offline. By the time it reconnects, the price has moved.
A VPS takes your home Wi-Fi, router and laptop sleep out of the trading path. It is the right tool when an Expert Advisor (EA) runs with your computer off.
Yet the VPS still has to reach your broker’s trade server across the internet. It changes where MT4 runs, not the path between the VPS host and your broker. If nothing changes on that path, the next busy session can drop it again.
Also check whether only your Remote Desktop window froze. If only your screen session dropped, MT4 kept running the whole time.
Five checks inside the VPS show where the drop starts.
Each one rules out a cause. The next section says what each result means.
Five checks inside the VPS
- 01
Read the MT4 Journal tab inside the VPS
Open View → Terminal and click the Journal tab. If the Journal shows no connection loss when Remote Desktop froze, only your screen session dropped, not MT4.
- 02
Check your MT4 version
Open Help → About. MetaQuotes ended support for older terminals on 1 July 2025. MT4 desktop builds older than 1440 and MT5 builds older than 4755 can no longer connect.
- 03
Check whether a second device logs into the same account
Line up the Journal drop times with when you open the account on a phone or home computer. Some brokers limit how many sessions can be open at once.
What it tells you. If the drops match those logins, the second session is knocking MT4 off.
- 04
Find your broker’s server and run tracert
Read the server name under Tools → Options → Server. Then run tracert and a five-minute ping to that name from Command Prompt inside the VPS. Our guide to reading tracert lines shows how to read the result.
- 05
Compare with a direct connection
If you set a proxy in MT4 on the VPS, untick Enable proxy server and compare for a few hours. If MT4 drops at the same minutes either way, ask your broker.
Each result tells you whether to call your VPS host, your broker or neither.
- Remote Desktop froze, but the MT4 Journal shows no drop. The fault is between your screen and the VPS. Your EA and MT4 stayed online. If you trade by hand, consider running MT4 on your own computer.
- The ping or tracert from the VPS shows lost replies. The fault is on the VPS host’s network. Send the tracert result and the Journal times to your VPS host.
- The VPS sits in a different city from your broker’s server. Distance is the issue. Read VPS still showing high latency.
- MT4 drops at the same minute every day or weekend. Check for broker maintenance or a scheduled VPS reboot. Ask your broker about its maintenance window.
- MT4 fails to connect at all. Check the build number, server name or login. Follow MT4 won’t connect.
Traders Proxy can’t replace a VPS for an unattended EA, but it can work inside one.
Here is what changes with us. Traders Proxy doesn’t keep a platform running when your computer is off. An unattended EA still needs a VPS.
Trading by hand, you can run MT4 on your own computer through Traders Proxy instead. Or paste Traders Proxy into MT4 on the VPS under Tools → Options → Server → Proxy….
Why it matters. Trading by hand, you skip Remote Desktop and click on your screen.
Choose your broker’s city in your dashboard so our server there connects to your broker. Any packet lost on that leg is recovered locally inside that city.
You also get a separate trading password that you can replace in your dashboard. That way your billing login never sits on a shared VPS.
If your device or VPS drops off, our server notices quickly and frees its place, so your terminal can reconnect instead of hanging. Your terminal can reconnect straight away from the same network, up to your device limit.
It will not fix a broker outage or a fault in the VPS host’s network. 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
Why does MT4 disconnect on a VPS if the VPS is always on?
A VPS keeps Windows running. MT4 still connects across the internet from the VPS to your broker’s server. A fault on that connection, or at your broker, can still drop the session.
Is there a reconnect timeout setting I can change inside MT4?
MetaQuotes documents no user setting for the reconnect timer in MT4. The Server tab under Tools → Options holds your login, server and proxy settings.
Can I use both a VPS and Traders Proxy?
Yes. MT4 and MT5 on a Windows VPS have the same Tools → Options → Server → Proxy… setting as a desktop computer. Test the VPS direct first so you know whether the proxy changes anything.
Do my stop-loss and take-profit orders still work if MT4 disconnects on a VPS?
Stop-loss and take-profit orders are held on your broker’s trade server, so they stay in place. Trailing stops run in the terminal, so they work only while MT4 is running and connected.
When can I drop the VPS and use only Traders Proxy?
Only when you trade while your own computer is on. If an EA or trailing stop must run while your computer is off, keep the VPS.
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.
Manual trading on a Windows VPS adds a remote-desktop step that 0 ms hides
“a trader has a trading robot developed by his or her efforts or ordered from programmers; a trader has an Expert Advisor purchased from the Market; a trader has subscribed to a Signal. All these cases require constant connection to a trade server and uninterrupted power supply.”
How local trading avoids it. Your platform stays on your own computer and monitors, so clicks and hotkeys never wait on a remote-desktop window.
- Platform stays on your own computerPrimary
Where it stops. We add a step between your computer and your broker, and we do not promise lower ping. Distance between you and your broker still counts.
The rented Windows VPS itself freezes, spikes, crashes or goes down
“Yeah, they went down completely due to a data center issue. It is so frustrating when you have live trades running. I moved away from them after a similar scare.”
How local trading avoids it. There's no rented Windows machine in your setup to freeze or go down. Your platform runs on your own computer.
- Platform stays on your own computerPrimary
- Services restart themselves after a crashSupporting
Where it stops. Your platform runs on your own computer, so there is no remote desktop to freeze. If a service on our server restarts, live connections reconnect.
EAs on several terminals or brokers with one rented terminal per account and a DLL ban
“If a program launched on a Virtual terminal tries to call a function from any DLL, this EX4/EX5 program is immediately stopped due to a critical error. Any DLL calls are forbidden.”
Why a proxy does not change this. Traders Proxy is for people who run their platform on their own computer. It does not run robots for you.
Where it stops. Does not run an EA while your computer is off. Not a hosting service.
When a provider or country blocks the direct route to cTrader
“My current alternative solution is cTrader web with VPS proxy to connect to NewYork server, so far so good.”
What our system reduces. If your provider blocks the route to your platform's servers, you can send your platform through a Traders Proxy server instead. It works only if your provider lets you reach us.
- Built-in
HTTPproxy loginPrimary
Where it stops. Works only if your network lets you reach our server. cTrader on Windows uses an HTTP proxy setting and does not route the installer through it.