What forex traders should actually know about MetaTrader 4
What keeps MT4 relevant after two decades
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences years ago, steering brokers toward MT5. But most retail forex traders stayed put. The reason is not complicated: MT4 does one thing well. A huge library of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts run on MT4. Moving to MT5 means rewriting that entire library, and few people would rather keep trading than recoding.
I spent time testing MT4 and MT5 side by side, and the gap is smaller than you'd expect. MT5 adds a few extras like more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but chart functionality is very similar. For most retail strategies, MT4 is more than enough.
Setting up MT4 without the usual headaches
Installation takes a few minutes. The part that trips people up is the setup after install. Out of the box, MT4 shows four charts tiled across one window. Shut them all and start fresh with the instruments you care about.
Chart templates save time. Set up your preferred indicators once, then save it as a template. After that you can apply it to any new chart in two clicks. Small thing, but over time it saves hours.
Something most people miss: go to Tools > Options > Charts and check "Show ask line." MT4 only shows the bid price by default, which makes entries appear wrong by the spread amount.
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 comes down to your tick data. Standard history data is interpolated, meaning the tester fills gaps using algorithms. For anything beyond a rough sanity check, you need third-party tick data.
Modelling quality matters more than the bottom-line PnL. Below 90% suggests the results aren't trustworthy. I've seen people post backtest results with 25% modelling quality and wonder why their live results don't match.
The strategy tester is one of MT4's stronger features, but the output is only useful with quality tick data.
Building your own MT4 indicators
MT4 comes with 30 built-in technical indicators. Few people use more than five or six. But the real depth comes from community-made indicators built with MQL4. The MQL5 marketplace alone has thousands available, ranging from basic modifications to full trading dashboards.
Installing them is straightforward: 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 quality control. Publicly shared indicators are hit-and-miss. Some are well coded and maintained. Some stopped working years ago and can freeze your terminal.
If you're downloading custom indicators, check the last update date and whether other traders have flagged problems. A poorly written indicator won't just give wrong signals — it can slow down MT4.
The MT4 risk controls you're probably not using
You'll find a few native risk management features that a lot of people skip over. Probably the most practical one is maximum deviation in the trade execution window. This defines how much slippage you're willing to tolerate on market orders. Leave it at zero and you'll get whatever price comes through.
Everyone knows about stop losses, but trailing stops are worth exploring. Click on an open trade, select Trailing Stop, and define your preferred distance. It adjusts when the trade goes your way. It won't suit every approach, but on trending pairs it removes the need to stare at the screen.
You can configure all of this in under five minutes and they take some of the guesswork out of trade management.
Expert Advisors — before you trust a robot with your money
EAs sounds appealing: define your rules and let the machine execute. The reality is, a huge percentage of them lose money over any meaningful time period. Those sold with incredible historical results tend to be fitted to past data — they look great on the specific data they were tested on and fall apart the moment conditions shift.
That doesn't mean all EAs are useless. Some traders code custom EAs for one particular setup: opening trades at session opens, calculating lot sizes, or exiting positions at predetermined levels. These utility-type EAs work because they do defined operations where you don't need interpretation.
If you're evaluating EAs, test on demo first for a minimum of two to three months. Forward testing reveals more than any backtest.
MT4 on Mac and mobile: what actually works
MT4 was built for Windows. Running it on Mac face friction. The old method was Wine or PlayOnMac, which mostly worked but came with display glitches and stability problems. Some brokers now offer native Mac other source apps wrapped around compatibility layers, which work more smoothly but remain wrappers at the end of the day.
On mobile, on both iPhone and Android, are genuinely useful for monitoring positions and making quick adjustments. Doing proper analysis on a phone screen is pushing it, but managing exits on the go is genuinely handy.
Look into whether your broker has a proper macOS version or just Wine under the hood — the experience varies a lot between the two.