If you trade with a prop shop, odds are that MetaTrader 5 is your environment. MT5 is powerful, versatile, and feature-rich—but let’s face it, it ain’t perfect. Eventually, we’ve all encountered those irritating errors from MT5, which tend to occur precisely at the most inconvenient moments. Perhaps you are attempting to open a trade during the opening of the London session, or perhaps you are working with drawdown conditions, and suddenly. Well, you get the idea.

The bright side is that most errors on MT5 are simple errors that are common knowledge and can be resolved if you understand what is happening in the background process. In this guide, I will walk you through common errors in MetaTrader 5 for prop traders and ways on how these errors can be solved without sounding too technical or boring.

“Trade Disabled” or “AutoTrading disabled

This one brings about panic immediately, especially during tricky sessions.

Why It Happens

Auto Trading is turned off in MT5 

Your prop firm limits automated trading on that account 

Expert Advisors (EAs) are not permitted during evaluations

How to fix it

First, check the top toolbar. If the button for AutoTrading is red, click on it to make the button green. This should solve the problem for most traders.

 

If you’re using an EA:

Go: Tools > Options > Expert Advisors

Check “Allow algorithmic trading”

Still not working? That’s when you refer to your prop firm’s policies. Some prop firms disable EAs on their systems or do not enable their use on funded accounts. This is not an MT5 problem.

Invalid Volume Error

Nothing is more frustrating than lining up a perfect trade and then clicking ‘Buy’ only to see that message.

Why It Happens

Lot size not compliant with brokerage permissible margin increments

 

Minimum or maximum lot size is violated

 

The best prop firm has non-standard contract sizes

How to correct it

Right-click the symbol on Market Watch > Specification. Check:

• Minimum Volume
• Maximum volume
• Volume step

If the step size is 0.10, for example, and you put 0.15, MT5 will reject that. It is that simple.

Prop traders will encounter this situation when transitioning from demo accounts to evaluation accounts, possibly due to different contract sizes — don’t assume your original lot values will remain the same.

Market Closed Error

This error is almost invariably seen at precisely the worst time, and it is usually at the end of Friday or when it is time for news.

Why It Happens

Market is actually closed (weekends, holidays)

Symbol Trading Hours are Limited

Prop firm prevents execution of trades during news occurrences

How to fix it

Please check the symbol trading times:

Right-click on the symbol → Specification → Trading hours

If the market is open, you can check the dashboard or the mail in the Prop Firm. Some Prop Firms turn off the market during high-impact news and rollovers.

PRO TIP: Make sure to familiarize yourself with the news trading policies of your brokerage firm. MT5 is not buggy—it’s enforcing the rules

“Off Quotes” or “Requote”

Such errors are mostly apparent when markets are moving at a fast rate.

Why it happens

Price Moved” prior to the actual execution of your trade

High Volatility (News, Market Openings)

Poor internet connection or VPS lag

How to fix it

 

If supported, toggle from Immediate Execution to Market Execution.

 

A slight widening of stop-loss and take-profit points is required

 

Enhance connection speed (VPS is of great assistance)

 

For a prop trader, execution speed is important. In fact, a cheap VPS with a lot of load can be worse than no VPS.

“Not Enough Money” (Even Though You Have Balance)

This one feels personal.

Why it happens

Margin requirements exceed expectations    

A Comparison of Margin Requirements

You currently have open positions on margin

Leverage is lower on the prop account

How to correct it

Check:

• Leverage on the account (decreased by prop shops)
• Margin provided by existing positions
• Margin Requirements for Symbols

At this point, remember that having $100,000 in your props account doesn’t mean you have $100,000 in free margin at your disposal at all points in time. It is important to consider leverage.

Indicators Not Showing on the Chart

You put on the little indicator you like best…and nothing happens.

Why it happens

Indicator: Designed for MT4 – NOT MT5

Document written by a wrong file

Chart timeframe isn’t supported

How to correct it

First, check to see if the indicator is compatible with the MT5 platform. Using an MT4 indicator on the MT5 platform would render

Then:

Go to File -> Open Data Folder

Add indicators in MQL5 ⇒ Indicators

Restart MT5

If it still doesn’t appear, look at the Experts and Journal tabs for error messages. These will generally point out exactly where the issue is.

Expert Advisor Not Trading

This affects if you are using automation.

Why it happens

AutoTrading disabled

EA settings misconfigured

Prop firm prevents automated approaches

How to fix it

Open the settings of the EA and check:

• Allow live trading is enabled
• Inputs (lot size, risk %) comply with prop rules

Some prop houses permit EAs only if they don’t use:

• Marting
• BUIS-2
• Latency arbitrage

“If your EA breaks these rules, the MT5 may run, but the trade won’t be executed.”

Invalid Stops Error

This is more common during scalping and the use of smaller time frames.

Why it happens

• Stop-loss or take-profit is too close to price
• Broker to enforce minimum stop distance

How to correct it

It’s important to check the stop levels listed in the symbols specs. If the minimum stop levels are 10 points, you cannot enter a stop of 5 points at all, as the MT5 software will not allow it.

This becomes even more crucial for prop traders who scalp. This means that the stop distance rule should always form part of the strategy.

Platform Freezing or Crashing

There is nothing quite like seeing an MT5 freeze while in the middle

Why it happens

• Too many charts or indicators
• Low system memory
• Corrupt cache files

How to fix it

• Close unused charts
• Remove heavy MT5 indicators you don’t need
• Restart MT5 daily

If the problem re-emerges:

• Reinstall MT5 
• Log in again using your prop firm credentials

It’s surprising just how many issues can be resolved with a clean installation.