MT5 New Order Button Greyed Out? 7 Causes and How to Fix Each

A grey New Order button means MetaTrader 5 will not let this login send a trade right now. The platform is not broken. It is telling you that something about the account, the connection or the symbol blocks trading, and the cause is nearly always one of seven things.

You can find which one in under two minutes by checking them in the order below, starting with the quickest. The same checks work on the desktop terminal, the web terminal and the mobile app, although the screens look slightly different.

The seven causes, quickest to check first

1. You logged in with the investor password

Every MetaTrader account has two passwords. The master password allows trading, while the investor password opens the same account in read-only mode, so you can watch positions and history but cannot open, close or change anything. Brokers often email both at once, and it is easy to save the wrong one in the login box.

To check, open the Navigator, right-click your account and choose Login to Trade Account. Enter the master password and tick Save password. If the button turns green straight away, that was the problem. Our guide to investor and master passwords explains when sharing the read-only one is safe.

2. The terminal is not connected

MetaTrader shows connection status in the bottom-right corner. A message such as No connection, Invalid account or a constantly cycling server name means the platform has not reached the broker. Without a live connection the trade button stays grey even though old prices may still sit on the chart.

Right-click the status area and choose Rescan servers, or select another access point from the list. On mobile, log out and back in. If none of that works, check that the server name in your login matches the one in your broker's welcome email, since live and demo servers are separate.

3. The market is closed for that symbol

Forex trades from Sunday evening to Friday evening in New York time, but every symbol has its own sessions. Gold and many indices stop for a short break each day, stock CFDs follow their exchange hours, and public holidays close some markets entirely. When a symbol's session is shut, its trade button goes grey while others stay active.

Right-click the symbol in Market Watch, open Specification and read the Sessions table. Times are shown in server time, which is often two or three hours ahead of GMT. Our forex market hours tool converts the main sessions to your own clock.

4. The symbol is disabled or set to close only

Brokers list different versions of the same instrument for different account types, often with a suffix such as .m, .raw or a trailing letter. If your account cannot trade a version, that line stays grey. Some symbols are also moved to close-only during corporate actions or before an instrument is removed, which lets you exit but not open.

Look for a second listing of the same pair with a suffix. Right-click Market Watch, choose Symbols, search the pair and show the version that matches your account type. The Specification window shows Trade: Full access when trading is allowed.

5 to 7. Account status problems

• Unfunded live account. Many brokers keep a new live account in read-only mode until the first deposit clears. Check the deposit status in your client area.
• Expired demo. Demo accounts close after a period of inactivity, typically somewhere between two weeks and three months depending on the broker. Old logins can still show prices for a while. Open a fresh demo.
• Restricted account. Missing documents, a compliance review or an unpaid negative balance can lock trading. These always come with an email or a notice in the client area, so search your inbox before contacting support.

When the button is green but trades still fail

A working button does not guarantee a trade goes through. Errors such as Invalid volume, Not enough money or Invalid stops appear in the Journal tab after you click. Each has its own fix, and the Journal message tells you which one to read.

Reading the Journal and Experts tabs

MetaTrader writes every failed request to the Journal tab at the bottom of the terminal, with the time, the symbol and the server's answer. When the New Order button is grey you will not see an entry, because nothing was sent. Once it is green, any failure appears there, and the wording matches the error names in MetaQuotes' documentation.

Open the Toolbox with Ctrl+T on desktop and select Journal. On the mobile app, the same log sits under Settings, then Journal. Copy the exact line when you contact support. A message such as "trade disabled" or "invalid account" tells the broker where to look straight away and saves a long exchange of emails.

Expert Advisors write their own messages to the Experts tab. If an EA cannot trade, check for an AutoTrading button that is switched off on the toolbar, and in the EA's settings make sure Allow Algo Trading is ticked. A grey button on the chart's EA icon, rather than the New Order button, points to this setting.

Checklist before you contact support

1. Log in again with the master password and the server name from the welcome email.
2. Confirm the connection status shows a ping in milliseconds, not No connection.
3. Try EUR/USD during the London or New York session.
4. Check the symbol's Specification for Trade: Full access and its session times.
5. Look in your client area for deposit, verification or restriction notices.
6. Copy the latest Journal lines and the time they appeared.

Working through the list usually takes two minutes and solves the problem without a support ticket. If it does not, the details you gathered let the broker answer on the first reply.

Frequently asked

Official sources: MQL5: trade server return codes · MQL4: error codes · MetaTrader 5 Help: trading basics

Related reading

• MT5 "Market closed" error
• "Trade is disabled" error explained
• Investor vs master password
• Forex market hours tool