If your Expert Advisor (EA) on MetaTrader 4 or 5 isn’t firing off trades—or you’re not getting alerts—enable "Allow automated trading" in the platform settings first.
What's going on here?
It lives inside platforms like MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5). When an EA goes silent, nine times out of ten it’s because automated trading got switched off or the EA file never made it into the platform the right way.
Let’s fix it step by step
- Fire up MT4 or MT5.
- Hit Tools → Options (or mash Ctrl+O).
- In the Options box, switch to the Expert Advisors tab.
- Tick Allow automated trading and Allow DLL imports (only if your EA needs outside libraries).
- Click OK to lock it in.
Next, get the EA installed.
- Grab the EA file—usually a .ex4 or .mq4.
- Open MT4/MT5 and choose File → Open Data Folder.
- Drill down to MQL4/Experts (or MQL5/Experts on MT5).
- Drop the EA file in there.
- Restart MT4/MT5. Your EA should now show up in the Navigator under Expert Advisors.
Now attach it to a chart.
- Open any chart, say EUR/USD.
- In the Navigator, find your EA under Expert Advisors.
- Drag it straight onto the chart.
- In the popup, make sure Allow live trading is checked.
- Click OK and you’re live.
Still nothing happening?
- Spot the problem: Peek at the Experts tab in the Terminal (Ctrl+T) for any EA error messages.
- Bring MetaTrader up to date: You’ll want MT4 Build 1420 or newer, or MT5 Build 3200 or newer as of 2026 MetaQuotes Support.
- Start fresh: Delete the EA file and drop it back in to rule out corruption.
How to keep this from happening again
Run it on a demo account first to see how it behaves before risking real cash. Steer clear of EAs from shady sources—stick to ones with third-party audits or clean track records. Even though MetaTrader still backs EAs as of 2026, regulators are watching automated tools a lot closer now, so transparency really matters FINRA.
