MT5 Trades Not Copying? Here's What to Check

Trades placed on your master account aren't showing up on the receiving account. Almost every case comes down to one of a dozen causes, and you can narrow it to the right one in about thirty seconds.

Start here. Open your dashboard and look at the slave account's status indicator. That single check splits the problem in half:

• Grey / offline — the EA isn't talking to the server. Work through Part 1.
• Green / online, but trades aren't arriving — the connection is fine and something is rejecting the individual trades. Skip to Part 2.

Part 1: The slave account shows offline

1. The server URL isn't whitelisted (by far the most common)

MetaTrader blocks outbound web requests unless you explicitly allow the address. In the terminal running that account:

1. Tools → Options → Expert Advisors
2. Tick Allow WebRequest for listed URL
3. Add exactly: https://app.metatoolslab.io
4. Click OK, then remove and re-attach the EA

2. AutoTrading is switched off

The AutoTrading button in the toolbar must be green. If it's red, the EA is loaded but not permitted to act. Check the chart too — a small sad face 🙁 in the top-right corner means the EA isn't allowed to trade on it.

3. The wrong key is in the EA

Each account has its own key, and the master and slave keys are different. Two things to check:

• The Master EA takes the master account's key; each Slave EA takes that specific slave's key.
• Don't reuse one slave key across several terminals. Every receiving account has its own — copy each from its own row in the dashboard.

4. One terminal is being shared between accounts

If your accounts connect one at a time — each going offline as the next comes online — you're logging a single terminal in and out of each account in turn. A MetaTrader terminal is only ever logged into one trading account, and a copier needs every account online simultaneously.

Each account needs its own MT5 terminal, all running at the same time.

5. The EA isn't on a chart any more

EAs don't survive being removed, and a terminal restart can drop them if the chart wasn't saved. Open the terminal and confirm the EA is attached to a chart with a smiley face 🙂 in the corner.

6. The subscription has lapsed

If your trial ended or a payment failed, slaves stop receiving trades. The dashboard shows your subscription state at the top of the billing page.

Part 2: Connected, but trades aren't arriving

If the account shows online, the server is reaching it and individual trades are being rejected. The reason is recorded against each trade — open your dashboard's trade history and look at the failed row. It will tell you which of these applies.

1. The symbol doesn't exist on the receiving broker

The most common cause by a distance. Brokers name instruments differently — XAUUSD on one, XAUUSDm, XAUUSD.sc or GOLD on another. If the slave's broker has no symbol matching the master's, the trade can't be placed and you'll see:

Symbol "XAUUSD" not available on this broker — add a Symbol Map to fix

Add a symbol map on that slave account pointing the master's name at the local one.

Full walkthrough: how to set up symbol mapping.

2. The lot size is below the broker's minimum

A lot multiplier of 0.1 against a master trading 0.05 lots produces 0.005 — below almost every broker's 0.01 minimum, so the order is rejected as an invalid volume. Check the multiplier on that slave and what the resulting size would be.

3. The account is a netting account

Netting accounts aren't supported. MetaToolsLab copies trades position-by-position, which requires a hedging account — on a netting account, opposing trades merge into a single net position and the copies won't mirror the master. Your account type is shown in MT5 under the account details; if it says Netting, ask your broker for a hedging account.

4. It was a pending order

Pending orders are copied when they fill, not when they're placed. If you set a buy limit on the master, nothing happens on the slaves until price reaches it and the order becomes a live position — then it copies as a market order.

This is deliberate: placing the same pending order on a broker whose price is a few pips different would fill at a different moment, or never. Copying the fill keeps the accounts in step. It does mean a slave enters at its own broker's current price, which may differ slightly from the master's fill.

5. The market is closed on the receiving broker

Brokers keep different sessions, especially around rollover, weekends and holidays, and CFD instruments often have narrower hours than FX. A trade placed while the slave's broker has that symbol closed will be rejected.

6. Slippage protection rejected the fill

If the price moved further than the slave's maximum deviation allows between the master's fill and the copy, the order is refused rather than filled at a materially worse price. Raising the deviation on that slave makes fills more likely at the cost of precision.

How to read the error yourself

Three places tell you what happened, in order of usefulness:

1. Your dashboard's trade history — every failed copy carries the reason it failed. Start here.
2. The Experts tab in the slave's terminal (bottom panel) — what the EA itself is reporting.
3. The Journal tab — terminal-level events, including refused WebRequests and connection drops.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my slave account showing offline? Most often because https://app.metatoolslab.io hasn't been added to the WebRequest whitelist in that terminal (Tools → Options → Expert Advisors). That setting is per terminal, so each installation needs it. Also check that AutoTrading is on and the EA is still attached to a chart.

Why does only one of my accounts connect at a time? Because one terminal is being logged in and out of each account in turn. Each account needs its own MT5 terminal running simultaneously — switching a single terminal between accounts takes the previous one offline.

Why do some symbols copy but not others? The receiving broker names those instruments differently. Add a symbol map for each affected symbol, matching the broker's spelling exactly — the names are case-sensitive.

Why do I get an invalid volume error? The lot multiplier is producing a size below the broker's minimum (usually 0.01). Raise the multiplier or check what size the master is trading.

Do pending orders get copied? They copy when they fill, not when they're placed. The slave receives a market order at the moment the master's pending order becomes a live position.

Does MetaToolsLab work with netting accounts? No. Copying is position-by-position and requires a hedging account. Most brokers offer both — ask for a hedging account.

MetaToolsLab is trade-copying software — not a broker, signal provider, or financial advisor, and nothing here is financial advice. Trading carries a high risk of loss.