What keeps MT4 relevant after two decades
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences years ago, steering brokers toward MT5. Yet most retail forex traders kept using MT4. The reason is simple: MT4 does one thing well. More than a decade's worth of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts only work with MT4. Switching to MT5 means rebuilding that entire library, and the majority of users don't see the point.
I've tested both platforms side by side, and the differences are less dramatic than the marketing suggests. MT5 adds a few extras like more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the core charting is about the same. Unless you need MT5-specific features, there's no compelling reason to switch.
Getting MT4 configured properly the first time
Installation takes a few minutes. Where people waste time is the setup after install. On first launch, MT4 loads with four charts squeezed onto the screen. Close all of them and start fresh with the instruments you actually trade.
Templates are worth setting up early. Build your go-to indicators on one chart, then right-click and save as template. After that you can load it onto other charts instantly. Minor detail, but over months it saves hours.
One setting worth changing: go to Tools > Options > Charts and tick "Show ask line." The default view is the bid price on the chart, which can make entries appear wrong until you realise the ask price is hidden.
How reliable is MT4 backtesting?
MT4's built-in strategy tester allows you to run Expert Advisors against historical data. But here's the thing: the quality of those results depends entirely on your tick data. Built-in history data from MetaQuotes is interpolated, meaning the tester fills gaps with made-up prices. For anything beyond a rough sanity check, you need real tick data from a provider like Dukascopy.
Modelling quality is more important than the profit figure. If it's under 90% means the results are probably misleading. Traders sometimes share screenshots with 25% modelling quality and ask why the EA fails in real conditions.
This is one area where MT4 genuinely outperforms most web-based platforms, but the output is only useful with quality tick data.
MT4 indicators beyond the defaults
MT4 comes with 30 default technical indicators. Few people use more than five or six. But the platform's actual strength is in custom indicators written in MQL4. The MQL5 marketplace alone has thousands available, covering everything from simple moving average variations to complex multi-timeframe dashboards.
The install process is painless: copy the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, reboot MT4, and the indicator shows up in the Navigator panel. One thing to watch is quality. Free indicators are hit-and-miss. A few are genuinely useful. Some stopped working years ago and can freeze your terminal.
When adding third-party indicators, check when it was last updated and if other traders report issues. A broken indicator won't just give wrong signals — it can freeze MT4.
Risk management settings most MT4 traders ignore
You'll find a few native risk management tools that a lot of people don't bother with. First worth mentioning is maximum deviation in the trade execution window. This controls the amount of slippage is acceptable on market orders. If you don't set it and you're accepting whatever price comes through.
Stop losses are obvious, but the trailing stop function are worth exploring. Click on an open trade, pick Trailing Stop, and define a distance. It adjusts with the trade goes in your favour. It won't suit every approach, but for trend-following it reduces the need to stare at the screen.
These settings take a minute to configure and they take some of the guesswork out of trade management.
Running Expert Advisors: practical expectations
EAs sounds appealing: define your rules and let the machine execute. The reality is, the majority of Expert Advisors underperform over any decent time period. Those sold with flawless equity curves are usually fitted to past data — they performed well on past prices and break down the moment market conditions change.
This isn't to say all EAs are a waste of time. A few people code custom EAs to handle specific, narrow tasks: time-based entries, automating position size calculations, or taking profit at predetermined levels. That kind of automation work because they handle mechanical tasks where you don't need judgment.
When looking metatrader4 at Expert Advisors, test on demo first for no less than two to three months. Forward testing tells you more than historical results ever will.
MT4 beyond the desktop
MT4 is a Windows application at heart. If you're on macOS deal with a workaround. The traditional approach was running it through Wine, which was functional but came with visual bugs and occasional crashes. A few brokers now offer Mac-specific builds built on Wine under the hood, which is an improvement but still aren't true native apps.
MT4 mobile, on both Apple and Android devices, are surprisingly capable for watching open trades and making quick adjustments. Full analysis on a 5-inch screen is pushing it, but closing a trade while away from your desk has saved plenty of traders.
It's worth confirming if your broker provides a native Mac build or just a wrapper — it makes a real difference day to day.