MetaTrader 4 feeds
How quote sessions gate the MetaTrader 4 price flow.
A healthy feed can still produce a quiet MT4 symbol. Quote sessions decide when prices may pass through; trading sessions decide when orders may be accepted.
- Quote hours and trading hours are separate controls.
- Schedules are configured per symbol and weekday.
- Server time, holidays, and opening filters also matter.
Check the clock first
A repeatable daily stop is more likely to be a session or calendar issue than a random source outage.
Price and trading differ
A symbol can continue to show prices while trading is closed, or stop quoting because its quote session ended.
Test every boundary
Verify opening, closing, daily breaks, weekends, holidays, and daylight-saving changes.
On this page
MT4 stores quote and trading schedules in the symbol configuration. They answer different questions:
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| Schedule | Main effect |
|---|---|
| Quote session | When the server may pass the symbol’s quotes to clients |
| Trading session | When the symbol is open for trading |
Trading hours should normally fit inside the corresponding quote hours so clients have a current price before dealing opens. Confirm the permitted number of daily intervals and validation rules on the active server build.
Several schedules can affect the result
A symbol session is only one layer. Server working hours, holiday rules, end-of-day processing, and the server time zone can also affect availability.
Record all schedules in the same time zone before comparing them. A provider schedule written in UTC, an MT4 server running local time, and an operations calendar using another zone can each be correct while the combined result is wrong.
Opening behavior may be intentional
MT4 can withhold quotes briefly after a session opens through a symbol-level filter setting. That can protect clients from a noisy opening, but it can also look like a slow or broken feed.
When the first ticks are missing, check:
- the quote-session opening time;
- any opening suppression or filtering;
- the upstream feed’s own schedule;
- the first source timestamp; and
- the first client-visible timestamp.
Diagnose the pattern
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| Symptom | Check first |
|---|---|
| Symbol stops at the same time each day | Quote session and server time |
| Prices move but orders are refused | Trading session, holiday, or end-of-day state |
| Weekend symbol is quiet | Saturday/Sunday entries and server calendar |
| Delay appears only after the open | Opening filter and upstream start time |
| Failure follows a daylight-saving change | Server zone, operating-system zone, and provider schedule |
Session silence should not be counted as source failure. Otherwise a backup policy can switch during an expected market break.
Build a schedule test
For each instrument group, test at least one ordinary opening and closing, a daily break, a weekend boundary, a holiday, and the daylight-saving transition relevant to its market.
Capture the server time, provider time, last pre-close tick, first post-open tick, and client-visible result. Repeat the test after importing or cloning symbols because schedules are easy to inherit without deliberate review.
The upstream feed still needs a schedule
An external pricing service cannot override an MT4 quote session, but it should avoid publishing contradictory hours. Metals, indices, local exchanges, and 24/7 crypto instruments deserve separate policies rather than one global timetable.
The pricing engine can control when an upstream symbol is produced; MT4 then applies its own sessions as the final platform gate.
A feed shaped around your setup
Align feed hours with platform hours.
Send the instruments whose hours are awkward—metals, indices, crypto, or a local exchange. We’ll propose a workable schedule approach.