What keeps MT4 relevant after two decades
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences a while back, nudging brokers toward MT5. But most retail forex traders haven't moved. The reason is not complicated: MT4 works, and people trust what works. Thousands of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts run on MT4. Switching to MT5 means porting that entire library, and few people can't justify the effort.
I spent time testing both platforms side by side, and the gap is smaller than you'd expect. MT5 adds a few extras such as more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the charting is nearly identical. For most retail strategies, MT4 still holds its own.
Setting up MT4 without the usual headaches
Downloading and installing MT4 is the easy part. What actually causes problems is getting everything configured correctly. On first launch, MT4 opens with four charts squeezed onto one window. Close all of them and open just the pairs you follow.
Save yourself repeating the same setup by using templates. Set up your go-to indicators once, then right-click and save as template. From there you can apply it to any new chart without redoing the work. Minor detail, but over weeks it saves hours.
A quick tweak that helps: go to Tools > Options > Charts and check "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
MT4's built-in strategy tester gives you the ability to run Expert Advisors against historical data. That said: the quality of those results hinges on your tick data. The default history data is interpolated, meaning the tester fills gaps mathematically. If you're testing something that needs accuracy, download proper historical data.
The "modelling quality" percentage matters more than the bottom-line PnL. Anything below 90% suggests the results aren't trustworthy. People occasionally 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 only if you feed it decent data.
MT4 indicators beyond the defaults
MT4 ships with 30 standard technical indicators. Most traders never touch them all. That said, the platform's actual strength comes from custom indicators built with MQL4. There are thousands available, spanning tweaked versions of standard tools to complex multi-timeframe dashboards.
Installing them is straightforward: copy the .ex4 or .mq4 file into the MQL4/Indicators folder, restart MT4, and it appears in the Navigator panel. One thing to watch is quality control. Community indicators range from excellent to broken. A few additional information are solid tools. Some haven't been updated since 2015 and may crash your terminal.
When adding third-party indicators, check when it was last updated and if other traders mention bugs. Bad code won't just give wrong signals — it can freeze the whole terminal.
The MT4 risk controls you're probably not using
MT4 has some risk management features that most traders skip over. Probably the most practical one is maximum deviation in the new order panel. This controls how much slippage you'll accept on market orders. Without this configured and you're accepting whatever price the broker gives you.
Stop losses are obvious, but MT4's trailing stop feature are worth exploring. Right-click an open trade, select Trailing Stop, and enter the pip amount. Your stop loss follows with the trade goes in your favour. It won't suit every approach, but for trend-following it removes the urge to sit and watch.
You can configure all of this in under five minutes and they remove a lot of the emotional decision-making.
EAs on MT4: what to realistically expect
Expert Advisors on MT4 attract traders for obvious reasons: define your rules and let the machine execute. In reality, most EAs underperform over any decent time period. Those sold with flawless equity curves are usually fitted to past data — they worked on past prices and break down when conditions shift.
That doesn't mean all EAs are useless. A few people code their own EAs for specific, narrow tasks: opening trades at session opens, managing position sizing, or exiting positions at set levels. These utility-type EAs are more reliable because they execute mechanical tasks that don't require interpretation.
Before running any EA with real money, use a demo account for no less than two to three months. Running it forward in real time tells you more than any backtest.
MT4 beyond the desktop
The platform was designed for Windows. Running it on Mac has always been friction. The traditional approach was Wine or PlayOnMac, which was functional but came with display glitches and the odd crash. Certain brokers now offer macOS versions using Wine under the hood, which work more smoothly but still aren't true native apps.
On mobile, on both Apple and Android devices, work well for keeping an eye on positions and managing trades on the move. Full analysis on a mobile device is pushing it, but managing exits from your phone has saved plenty of traders.
It's worth confirming if your broker provides a native Mac build or just a wrapper — the difference in stability is noticeable.