TROUBLESHOOTING · METATRADER 5
MT5 chart not updating
SYMPTOM
The chart has frozen, prices are not moving, and the EA has gone quiet.
Causes, most likely first
1. The terminal is disconnected
Charts keep displaying cached data when the connection drops, so a frozen chart looks like a rendering bug. The status indicator in the bottom right is the truth — see no connection to trade server.
2. The market is closed
Gold has a daily maintenance break and is shut all weekend. A chart that stopped at a plausible hour on a Friday is not frozen. See market closed and gold trading hours.
3. The symbol is not subscribed in Market Watch
A symbol removed from Market Watch may stop receiving ticks while its chart stays open. Re-adding it restores the stream.
4. The terminal is overloaded
Many charts, heavy indicators or several EAs on a small VPS can starve the terminal enough that updates visibly lag. Close unused charts before assuming a fault.
Why this happens
An EA only runs on the tick event, so no ticks means no execution regardless of how correct the strategy is. A frozen chart is therefore a stopped bot, whatever the cause.
The order of checks is: connection status, then market hours, then Market Watch, then load. That resolves almost every case in under a minute and in that order, because each is cheaper to check than the next.
Related problems
- MT5 no connection to trade serverThe terminal shows "No connection" or "Connection lost" and the EA stops trading.…
- MT5 market closed errorOrders are rejected with "Market closed" during hours you expected to be tradeable.…
- EA is running but not taking any tradesThe EA is attached and enabled, the face is smiling, but no orders are ever placed.…
Educational information only, not financial advice. Trading leveraged products carries substantial risk of loss. Last updated 2026-08-11.