Troubleshooting: what a message means and what to do

You see

This robot is locked to other accounts

Why

Your robot runs only on the MetaTrader 5 account numbers you entered when you got it. The message on the chart names the robot and its build, the accounts it may run on (their last four digits) and the account MetaTrader is logged in to now. On this account it opens, changes and closes nothing.

What to do

1. 1

   Log in to one of the accounts the robot was built for: choose File, then Login to Trade Account, or double-click the account in the Navigator under Accounts.

2. 2

   To run it on this account instead, ask for an account change on your account page. We build the same robot again for the new number. The copy you already have keeps working on its old accounts.

3. 3

   Trades the robot opened on this account earlier keep the stop loss and take profit already set at the broker, but the robot no longer manages them. Watch them yourself, or close them.

The account lock, and how to change accounts

You see

Waiting for the account

Why

MetaTrader has not connected to your broker yet, so the robot does not know which account it is on. It waits and looks again every few seconds. It never trades while it waits.

What to do

1. 1

   Look at the bottom right corner of MetaTrader: it shows the connection. If it says No connection, check your internet connection or log in again (File, then Login to Trade Account).

2. 2

   Once MetaTrader is connected, the message changes by itself. If it says the robot is locked to other accounts instead, see the entry above.

You see

The robot's icon in the corner of the chart shows a cross or a stop sign, and nothing happens

Why

Automated trading is switched off, either for the whole of MetaTrader (the Algo Trading button on the toolbar) or for this robot (the box on its Common tab). A robot cannot open trades while either is off.

What to do

1. 1

   On the toolbar, switch on Algo Trading (older versions call it AutoTrading). The button is green when it is on.

2. 2

   Right-click the robot's name in the corner of the chart and choose Properties. On the Common tab, tick Allow Algo Trading (older versions: Allow Auto Trading). Press OK.

3. 3

   If it still opens no trades, it may be outside its trading hours, a safety limit may have stopped it for the day, or you may have pressed its own Stop robot button. The chart says which.

Switching your robot on

You see

Symbol not found, or the robot does nothing on a chart whose symbol name ends in extra letters

Why

Your robot was built for a symbol name such as EURUSD. Many brokers add letters to their symbol names, for example EURUSD.m or EURUSDxx, so the robot cannot find the symbol it was built for.

What to do

1. 1

   Open the robot's settings (right-click its name on the chart, then Properties) and look for the symbol suffix input on the Inputs tab. Type the extra letters, for example .m, and press OK.

2. 2

   If the symbol is not in your Market Watch at all, right-click in Market Watch, choose Symbols, find it and tick Show.

3. 3

   Put the robot on a chart of the symbol it trades. A robot built for EURUSD does nothing on a GBPUSD chart.

You see

Not enough history, or waiting for bars

Why

The robot's indicators need a number of closed bars before they can give a value: a 200-bar average needs 200 bars. On a chart that has just opened, or in a test that starts too late, those bars are not there yet.

What to do

1. 1

   Wait. On a live chart the bars load by themselves within a minute or two. Scrolling the chart back to the left makes MetaTrader load more history.

2. 2

   In the Strategy Tester, start the date range earlier, so the first bars the robot needs come before the first day you want to test.

You see

Declined: the trade size is below the broker's minimum

Why

Your robot works out the trade size from the risk you set and the distance to the stop loss. On a small account, or with a wide stop loss, that size can come out smaller than the smallest trade your broker allows (often 0.01 lots). The robot never rounds a trade up, so it declines the trade instead.

What to do

1. 1

   Use a larger account, or a demo account with a larger balance for testing.

2. 2

   In the builder, raise the risk per trade, or use a tighter stop loss, then build the robot again.

3. 3

   Check your broker's minimum trade size for the symbol: right-click the symbol in Market Watch, then Specification.

You see

Daily loss limit reached: no new trades today

Why

The account lost as much today as the daily loss limit you set, so the robot opens no new trades until the next day starts. This is the robot working as told. Trades already open keep their stop loss and take profit.

What to do

1. 1

   Nothing. It starts again by itself after the daily reset time (midnight by default, on the clock the robot uses).

2. 2

   To change the limit, change the number in the builder and get the robot again. You cannot delete the limit.

Safety limits and stops

You see

Account floor reached

Why

The account's equity fell to the floor you set. Depending on what you chose, the robot stopped opening new trades, or it closed its trades and stopped. This is the robot working as told.

What to do

1. 1

   Decide whether you want to keep trading at all. The floor is there to make you stop and look.

2. 2

   The robot opens no new trades while the account is at or below the floor. To change the floor, change the number in the builder and get the robot again.

Safety limits and stops

You see

Cannot open the news file (in the Strategy Tester)

Why

Robots with a news pause read MetaTrader's economic calendar. The calendar does not work inside the Strategy Tester, so the robot reads a news file instead, and without the file it stays out of the market and opens no trades in a test.

What to do

1. 1

   Run our free news helper once on a live chart. It writes the calendar for the dates you choose to a file in MetaTrader's common files folder, where the robot looks for it.

2. 2

   Start the test again. The robot now knows when the news is.

The news file for the Strategy Tester

You see

Trading is not allowed on this account

Why

You are logged in with the investor password, which lets you look at an account but not trade on it. The robot is allowed on the account, but no trade can be placed from this login.

What to do

1. 1

   Log out and log in again with the account's main (trader) password: File, then Login to Trade Account. Never share either password with anyone, including us.

You see

MetaTrader will not load the file and says the version is newer or unsupported

Why

Your MetaTrader 5 is older than the version that built your robot. An older MetaTrader cannot open a robot made by a newer one.

What to do

1. 1

   Update MetaTrader 5. It usually updates itself when it starts; if not, restart it and wait, or choose Help, then Check for Updates.

2. 2

   The build your robot needs is shown with your download. Compare it with Help, then About in MetaTrader: the number there must be the same or higher.

Where robots run, and the version you need

You see

My robot is not in the Navigator

Why

MetaTrader only lists robots that are in its Experts folder, and it reads that folder when it starts and when you refresh the list.

What to do

1. 1

   Check that the file (its name ends in .ex5) is in MQL5, then Experts, inside the data folder. To open the folder, choose File, then Open Data Folder.

2. 2

   In the Navigator, right-click Expert Advisors and choose Refresh.

Put your robot into MetaTrader 5

You see

This is a test copy. It runs only in the Strategy Tester.

Why

A free test copy has no accounts in it, so it works in the Strategy Tester and nowhere else. On a chart it shows this message and does nothing.

What to do

1. 1

   To run your robot on your own accounts, get it for those accounts from the builder. The download is a different file, built for the account numbers you enter.

Getting your robot for your accounts

You see

Stopped. Press Resume robot to start again.

Why

You pressed the Stop robot button on its chart. The robot stays stopped, even after MetaTrader restarts, until you press Resume robot.

What to do

1. 1

   Press Resume robot on the chart. If you chose Stop and close its trades, the trades it had open are already closed.

Your own stop button

You see

The robot says it sent an email or a push message, but nothing arrived

Why

Robots send email and push messages through MetaTrader's own services, which you set up once. Nothing is sent through our website.

What to do

1. 1

   Email: in MetaTrader choose Tools, then Options, then the Email tab. Enter your mail server details and press Test.

2. 2

   Push: install the MetaTrader 5 app on your phone and find its MetaQuotes ID in its settings. In the desktop app choose Tools, then Options, then Notifications, and enter the ID.

3. 3

   Email and push messages are not sent from the Strategy Tester.