What keeps MT4 relevant after two decades
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences years ago, nudging brokers toward MT5. Yet most retail forex traders haven't moved. The reason is simple: MT4 does one thing well. Thousands of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts were built for MT4. Switching to MT5 means rebuilding that entire library, and most traders would rather keep trading than recoding.
I've tested both platforms side by side, and the differences are marginal for most strategies. MT5 adds a few extras like more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the charting feels about the same. If you're weighing up the two, MT4 still holds its own.
Setting up MT4 without the usual headaches
The install process is quick. Where people waste time is configuration. Out of the box, MT4 shows four charts tiled across the screen. Shut them all and start fresh with the instruments you actually trade.
Save yourself repeating the same setup by using templates. Configure your preferred indicators once, then save it as a template. Then you can apply it to any new chart in two clicks. Small thing, but over time it adds up.
One setting worth changing: open Tools > Options > Charts and enable "Show ask line." By default MT4 displays the bid price on the chart, 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. But here's the thing: the quality of those results hinges on your tick data. The default history data is interpolated, meaning it fills in missing ticks using algorithms. For anything beyond a rough sanity check, grab proper historical data.
That quality percentage in the results matters more than the headline profit number. Below 90% indicates the results aren't trustworthy. I've seen people share screenshots with 25% modelling quality and ask why the EA fails in real conditions.
The strategy tester is one of MT4's stronger features, but only if you feed it decent data.
Custom indicators on MT4: worth the effort?
MT4 comes with 30 standard technical indicators. Most traders never touch them all. However the platform's actual strength lives in user-built indicators written in MQL4. You can find over 2,000 options, spanning tweaked versions of standard tools to full trading dashboards.
Adding a custom indicator is simple: copy the .ex4 or .mq4 file into the MQL4/Indicators folder, refresh MT4, and the indicator shows up in the Navigator panel. The catch is quality. Free indicators are hit-and-miss. Some are well coded and maintained. Many are abandoned projects and may crash your terminal.
When adding third-party indicators, look at when it was last updated and if users mention bugs. A poorly written indicator doesn't only show wrong data — it can freeze your entire platform.
Risk management settings most MT4 traders ignore
MT4 has some risk management options that most traders never configure. The most useful is maximum deviation in the new order panel. It sets the amount of slippage is acceptable on market orders. Leave it at zero and you're accepting whatever price is available.
Stop losses are obvious, but trailing stops are worth exploring. Click on an open trade, pick Trailing Stop, and enter your preferred distance. It moves automatically as price moves in your favour. Doesn't work well in choppy markets, but for trend-following it reduces the urge to stare at the screen.
These settings take a minute to configure and they remove a lot of the emotional decision-making.
Running Expert Advisors: practical expectations
EAs attract traders for obvious reasons: define your rules and let the machine execute. In reality, the majority of Expert Advisors fail to deliver over any meaningful time period. Those advertised with perfect backtest curves are usually over-optimised — they performed well on past prices and fall apart once market conditions change.
That doesn't mean all EAs are useless. Certain traders code personal EAs for one particular setup: opening trades at session opens, managing position sizing, or exiting positions at set levels. These smaller, focused scripts work because they handle mechanical tasks where you don't need interpretation.
If you're evaluating EAs, run them on a demo account for at least several weeks in different conditions. Forward testing tells you the full details more than historical results ever will.
Using MT4 outside Windows
MT4 is a Windows application at heart. If you're on macOS deal with friction. The traditional approach was emulation, which was functional but came with display glitches and the odd crash. Certain brokers now offer Mac-specific builds using Crossover or similar wrappers, which are better but still aren't built from scratch for Mac.
On mobile, available for both iOS and Android, are genuinely useful for keeping an eye on positions and managing trades on the move. Serious charting work on a mobile device isn't realistic, but closing a trade from your phone is worth having.
Check whether your broker offers real Mac support or a compatibility layer — the experience varies a lot between the two.