AutoTrading is disabled in MT5

Causes, most likely first

1. The global Algo Trading button is off

Look at the toolbar at the top of MetaTrader. The Algo Trading button must be green, not red. Click it once. This single toggle overrides every other setting — an EA can be loaded, initialised and generating signals while this is off, and it will place no orders at all. It is the answer far more often than anything else on this page.

2. The EA itself is not permitted to trade

Right-click the chart, choose Expert Advisors then Properties, open the Common tab and tick "Allow Algo Trading". This is a per-EA permission that is separate from the global button, and both must be enabled. Reattaching an EA sometimes resets it to the platform default.

3. A platform update reset the setting

Some MetaTrader builds turn algorithmic trading off after updating, as a safety default. If a previously working setup stopped overnight and nothing else changed, this is almost certainly why. Re-enable it and check the Journal tab for the update entry to confirm.

4. The broker has disabled automated trading on the account

Rare, but it happens on some demo contests and on accounts flagged for review. The Journal will show a server-side rejection rather than a client-side one — the wording is "Autotrading disabled by server" rather than "by client". Only the broker can lift it.

Why this happens

MetaTrader deliberately makes automated trading opt-in at two levels, because an EA can place orders without confirmation and the platform assumes you would rather it did nothing than something unexpected. That design is sensible and it produces this exact confusion constantly.

The distinction worth learning is between "by client" and "by server" in the log message. Client means the setting is on your machine and you can change it in one click. Server means the broker has blocked it and no amount of local configuration will help.

Once trading is enabled, the next thing to verify is that the EA is actually running — a smiling face in the top-right corner of the chart. If it is not there, see no smiley face. If it is there and still nothing happens, work through EA not taking trades.