An EA can be loaded on a chart without being permitted to trade, and it can be fully permitted while waiting for its strategy conditions. Begin by separating installation, permissions, connection and actual order results. Do not increase volume or disable filters merely to make a quiet robot open a trade.
This guide describes desktop MT5. Mobile and browser terminals are not the place to attach a desktop .ex5 Expert Advisor. Use a controlled demo setup for troubleshooting and preserve the settings and logs before changing them. Successful installation is not evidence that a strategy will be profitable.
Route A: a licensed MQL5 Market purchase
Sign in to the MQL5.community account associated with the purchase, then open the platform's Market purchases area and install the matching MT5 product. Follow the current Market installation workflow rather than copying a protected purchased file from another computer.
Market activations bind a licensed copy to a hardware and operating-system configuration. Check your purchase's available activations before changing machines; do not assume a seller or support request will restore consumed activations. A Market demo of an EA is intended for the Strategy Tester and cannot be treated as an unrestricted online-chart version. Verify which version you downloaded before diagnosing an idle chart.
Route B: an authorised .ex5 file
- In the intended MT5 installation, use File → Open Data Folder so that you edit that terminal's data directory.
- Place the EA in MQL5 → Experts. Indicators belong in MQL5 → Indicators, and input presets belong in MQL5 → Presets.
- Refresh Expert Advisors in Navigator and confirm the expected file and version. An .ex4 build belongs to MT4 and is not an MT5 EA.
- Open the exact broker symbol and documented timeframe, then attach the EA. Review Inputs before confirming; a similar symbol name is not proof of compatible contract rules.
Error category 1: trading permissions are unavailable
Check the platform-wide Algo Trading control and the attached EA's own automated-trading permission. Both must allow order placement. The platform can continue running analytical code when trading is disabled, so an initialised message or dashboard alone does not establish permission to submit orders.
Also check the account's trading rights and whether the broker permits Expert Advisor trading. An investor or read-only login is not a trading login. Platform settings can automatically disable automated trading after account, profile, symbol or timeframe changes; review the resulting state rather than assuming yesterday's permission is still active. Do not enable DLL imports or external URLs unless the trusted product's documented requirements justify them.
Error category 2: connected and permitted, but no setup
Inspect Experts for the program's actual filter messages. It may be waiting for a bar, a session, a spread limit, a valid signal or the end of a cooldown. Confirm that prices are updating and that the broker's instrument is within its actual session; forex and Gold hours, holidays and daylight-saving changes are broker-dependent.
Compare the documented strategy conditions with what was available after attachment. A historical signal that appeared before the EA started need not become a new order. If the EA does not explain its decision in logs, ask what diagnostic output is supported instead of inferring a fault from silence.
Error categories 3 and 4: invalid volume, stops or margin
A trade-server return of 10014 means invalid volume; 10016 means invalid stops; 10019 means insufficient money. These are server-result categories, not interchangeable with an EA's custom error numbers. Read the complete request and returned message before changing inputs.
In Market Watch → Specification, check the exact symbol's minimum, maximum and step for volume, stop-distance and freeze rules, permitted orders and margin calculation method. For a fictional 0.01 volume step, 0.015 may be invalid. For a margin problem, review equity, free margin and all existing exposure. Gold contract size and leverage treatment vary; do not assume one universal 100-ounce margin formula or fund an account merely to clear an error.
| Recorded category | Evidence to inspect | Avoid this shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Invalid volume | Exact volume and broker increments | Rounding up without recalculating loss |
| Invalid stops | Direction, current quotes and distance rules | Removing protection to force entry |
| Insufficient money | Account equity, exposure and margin model | Adding funds without reviewing the basket |
Error category 5: file or licence mismatch
If the program is missing in Navigator, confirm that the file was placed in this terminal's data folder, under Experts, and that it is the MT5 build. Read Experts and Journal for loading or licensing errors. A protected Market file, an expired rental or a tester-only demo can require a different remedy from an ordinary authorised .ex5 installation.
Use the purchase record and official Market workflow for licensing questions. Do not rename extensions, download unofficial unlocked copies or repeatedly reinstall on different machines. Preserve the precise message and explain the machine or operating-system change when requesting support.
Error category 6: symbol or account model is incompatible
Use the broker's actual symbol spelling, including suffixes, in any input that names an instrument. Some EAs operate on the chart symbol; others have explicit or multi-symbol configuration. A suffix cannot be assumed harmless without the product's documented handling.
Verify hedging versus netting requirements. In netting, executions change one aggregate position per symbol; separate position tickets and independent exits behave differently from a hedging account. Quantora BB Grid's product documentation explicitly requires hedging. For other products, confirm their own supported model rather than applying a blanket rule to every grid EA.
Error category 7: operation stopped after previously working
Check connection and fresh quotes first, then Journal and Experts around the last successful activity. A terminal or VPS restart, changed account credentials, updated inputs, unavailable licence, account restriction or changed contract/session can affect operation. Reconstruct what changed rather than restarting repeatedly.
Before allowing another order after a timeout or restart, reconcile positions, pending orders and history. The previous request might have reached the broker even if its response did not reach the terminal. Running both a local terminal and another hosted instance against the same strategy can also create unintended duplicates unless ownership is explicitly managed.
Before leaving the EA unattended
- Save the EA version, intended symbol, account mode and inputs with a dated demo observation record.
- Verify accepted orders and actual protective levels, not only a dashboard or toolbar icon.
- Observe meaningful entries, exits, rejected requests and a controlled restart; a fixed number of quiet days proves little.
- Distinguish server stops from local trailing or basket rules that require the program to remain available.
- For support, share a redacted time interval and configuration; never disclose passwords, tokens or unnecessary personal records.
- Read the relevant VPS guide and confirm which instance should own execution before moving the strategy.
