What forex traders should actually know about MetaTrader 4
What keeps MT4 relevant after two decades
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences years ago, nudging brokers toward MT5. But most retail forex traders stayed put. The reason is straightforward: MT4 does one thing well. More than a decade's worth of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts were built for MT4. Migrating to MT5 means rewriting that entire library, and few people would rather keep trading than recoding.
After testing both platforms side by side, and the gap is marginal for most strategies. MT5 has a few extras such as more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but chart functionality is nearly identical. For most retail strategies, there's no compelling reason to switch.
Getting MT4 configured properly the first time
The install process is quick. What actually causes problems is configuration. On first launch, MT4 loads with four charts crammed into the screen. Shut them all and open just the markets you care about.
Chart templates additional resources save time. Configure your go-to indicators once, then save it as a template. After that you can apply it to any new chart without redoing the work. Sounds trivial, but over time it makes a difference.
One setting worth changing: open Tools > Options > Charts and tick "Show ask line." MT4 only shows the bid price by default, which can make buy entries seem misaligned until you realise the ask price is hidden.
Backtesting on MT4: what the results actually mean
The strategy tester in MT4 gives you the ability to run Expert Advisors against historical data. That said: the accuracy of those results hinges on your tick data. Built-in history data from MetaQuotes is interpolated, meaning it fills in missing ticks mathematically. For anything more precise than a quick look, grab third-party tick data.
That quality percentage in the results tells you more than the headline profit number. If it's under 90% indicates the results shouldn't be taken seriously. People occasionally show off backtests with 25% modelling quality and ask why their live results don't match.
Backtesting is where MT4 earns its reputation, but the output is only useful with quality tick data.
MT4 indicators beyond the defaults
MT4 ships with 30 built-in technical indicators. The average trader uses maybe a handful. That said, the platform's actual strength lives in custom indicators built with MQL4. There are thousands available, spanning basic modifications to complex multi-timeframe dashboards.
Adding a custom indicator is simple: drop the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, restart MT4, and the indicator shows up in the Navigator panel. The risk is reliability. Publicly shared indicators vary wildly. A few are well coded and maintained. Others are abandoned projects and may crash your terminal.
If you're downloading custom indicators, look at when it was last updated and if users have flagged problems. A poorly written indicator won't just give wrong signals — it can lag MT4.
Managing risk properly inside MT4
You'll find a few native risk management features that a lot of people skip over. First worth mentioning is maximum deviation in the trade execution window. It sets the amount of slippage you'll accept on market orders. Leave it at zero and you'll get whatever price is available.
Stop losses are obvious, but trailing stops are worth exploring. Right-click an open trade, choose Trailing Stop, and set the pip amount. The stop follows automatically as price moves into profit. Not perfect for every strategy, but on trending pairs it reduces the urge to micromanage the trade.
You can configure all of this in under five minutes and the difference in discipline is noticeable over time.
Running Expert Advisors: practical expectations
Automated trading through Expert Advisors sounds appealing: program your strategy and stop staring at charts. In practice, a huge percentage of them fail to deliver over any decent time period. Those sold with perfect backtest curves tend to be over-optimised — they look great on historical data and break down the moment market conditions change.
None of this means all EAs are worthless. Certain traders develop personal EAs for specific, narrow tasks: opening trades at session opens, managing position sizing, or exiting positions at predetermined levels. These utility-type EAs tend to work because they do mechanical tasks that don't require judgment.
Before running any EA with real money, test on demo first for no less than two to three months. Forward testing reveals more than historical results ever will.
MT4 on Mac and mobile: what actually works
MT4 was built for Windows. Running it on Mac has always been compromises. The old method was running it through Wine, which did the job but had rendering issues and occasional crashes. Some brokers now offer Mac-specific builds using Wine under the hood, which are better but still aren't built from scratch for Mac.
The mobile apps, available for both Apple and Android devices, are surprisingly capable for keeping an eye on open trades and tweaking stops. Serious charting work on a phone screen isn't realistic, but managing exits while away from your desk is worth having.
Check whether your broker offers a native Mac build or just a wrapper — it makes a real difference day to day.