MT4 in 2026: why it refuses to die
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences years ago, nudging brokers toward MT5. Yet most retail forex traders stayed put. The reason is not complicated: MT4 has twenty years of muscle memory behind it. Thousands of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts only work with MT4. Moving to MT5 means rebuilding that entire library, and most traders can't justify the effort.
I spent time testing MT4 and MT5 side by side, and the gap is smaller than you'd expect. MT5 has a few extras like more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the charting is very similar. For most retail strategies, MT4 still holds its own.
Getting MT4 configured properly the first time
Installation takes a few minutes. Where people waste time is configuration. Out of the box, MT4 opens with four charts squeezed onto the screen. Clear the lot and open just the markets you follow.
Templates are worth setting up early. Configure your go-to indicators on one chart, then save it as a template. From there you can apply it to any new chart in two clicks. Small thing, but over months it adds up.
A quick tweak that helps: go to Tools > Options > Charts and check "Show ask line." MT4 only shows the bid price by default, which makes 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 lets you run Expert Advisors against historical data. Worth noting though: the quality of those results depends entirely on your tick data. The default history data from MetaQuotes is modelled, meaning the tester fills gaps with made-up prices. For anything that needs accuracy, you need proper historical data.
Modelling quality matters more than the headline profit number. Anything below 90% indicates the results shouldn't be taken seriously. People occasionally share screenshots with 25% modelling quality and ask why their live results don't match.
Backtesting is where MT4 earns its reputation, 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 real depth lives in user-built indicators written in MQL4. The MQL5 marketplace alone has thousands available, covering everything from basic modifications to elaborate signal panels.
The install process is painless: drop the .ex4 or .mq4 file into the MQL4/Indicators folder, refresh MT4, and you'll find it in the Navigator panel. One thing to watch is quality. Community indicators vary wildly. A few are genuinely useful. Others are abandoned projects and can freeze your terminal.
If you're downloading custom indicators, verify when it was last updated and if users report issues. A poorly written indicator won't just give wrong signals — it can slow down the whole terminal.
Managing risk properly inside MT4
You'll find some risk management tools that a lot of people don't bother with. First worth mentioning is the maximum deviation setting in the order window. This controls the amount of slippage you're willing to tolerate on market orders. Leave it at zero and you'll get whatever price comes through.
Stop losses go without saying, but trailing stops are worth exploring. Right-click an open trade, choose Trailing Stop, and define your preferred distance. Your stop loss moves take a look automatically as price moves your way. Doesn't work well in choppy markets, but on trending pairs it reduces the temptation to sit and watch.
These settings take a minute to configure and the difference in discipline is noticeable over time.
Expert Advisors — before you trust a robot with your money
EAs sounds appealing: set rules, let the code trade, walk away. In practice, a huge percentage of them lose money over any extended time period. The ones sold with perfect backtest curves tend to be over-optimised — they look great on past prices and break down when market conditions change.
That doesn't mean all EAs are a waste of time. A few people build custom EAs to handle well-defined entry rules: opening trades at session opens, calculating lot sizes, or closing trades at predetermined levels. These smaller, focused scripts are more reliable because they handle repetitive actions without needing discretion.
If you're evaluating EAs, run them on a demo account for at least a few months. Running it forward in real time tells you more than backtesting alone.
MT4 on Mac and mobile: what actually works
MT4 was built for Windows. Running it on Mac has always been compromises. Previously was running it through Wine, which was functional but came with display glitches and occasional crashes. Certain brokers now offer macOS versions using Wine under the hood, which is an improvement but remain wrappers at the end of the day.
MT4 mobile, available for both iOS and Android, are surprisingly capable for keeping an eye on positions and tweaking stops. Doing proper analysis on a 5-inch screen is pushing it, but closing a trade on the go is worth having.
It's worth confirming if your broker provides real Mac support or a compatibility layer — the experience varies a lot between the two.