Your first MT5 EA demo test: a setup and troubleshooting checklist

A quiet EA is not necessarily broken, and a busy EA is not necessarily configured correctly. This checklist separates installation problems from normal strategy behavior and helps you collect useful evidence when asking for support.

Watch: check setup before changing risk

Before purchase: use the Market tester demo

The free MQL5 Market demo works in the MT5 Strategy Tester only. It cannot be attached to a demo-account or live-account chart. Use it to examine the strategy and its historical behavior before buying. After purchase or rental, the licensed product can be evaluated on a broker demo account.

Confirm the version and the preset

Current versions in my portfolio are QuantumBit Pro 1.20, Gold Regime H1 Pro 4.10, Crypto Portfolio Trend 1.40 and Bitcoin Regime H1 Pro 2.00. Gold remains listed under its historical Market name, Gold Range Grid Mean Reversion. Download the corresponding SET and reports from the EA Setup Hub.

Reset inputs to the current defaults before loading the matching SET. An update does not necessarily replace the values already saved on an old chart. Record any deliberate customization separately so your run can be distinguished from the published reference.

Check instrument and account requirements

• Use the exact broker symbol, including suffixes. Inspect contract size, minimum lot, volume step, margin and trading hours.
• Use the documented H1 chart and the account mode required for the compared configuration. QuantumBit requires a hedging account.
• For Crypto Portfolio Trend, confirm both BTC and ETH symbols in the initialization log. Run the intended one-chart portfolio instance; avoid duplicate instances managing the same instruments.
• Use distinct Magic identifiers where several EAs share an account, and verify the scope of each protection.

If the EA does not trade

Check terminal and EA trading permissions, connection, available history, market hours and Experts/Journal messages. Inspect spread and other execution filters. Trend, regime and breakout strategies still need a valid signal; forcing a trade is not an installation test. Record the time and relevant logs instead.

Check strategy-specific conditions. QuantumBit uses an H4 trend filter alongside its H1 operation. Bitcoin Regime needs confirmed regime signals. Crypto Portfolio Trend uses breakout, trend and momentum filters. Gold additional entries are disabled by default in 4.10. These strategies should not be expected to trade with identical frequency.

Record the demo prospectively

Keep a dated note of the version, preset, starting capital, broker contract, costs and configuration changes. Distinguish floating equity from closed results. Account for deposits and withdrawals before describing return. Short demo periods can show whether setup and execution behave as expected; they do not establish long-term profitability.

Ask for support with a reproducible question

Use MQL5 private messages or the product’s Comments. Include the EA version, exact symbol, account mode, relevant inputs, tester or demo context and the useful Journal lines. Remove credentials, account identifiers and personal information. A native tester report plus the matching SET is more useful than a cropped profit number.

After you have used the product, an honest review of installation, usability, documentation and testing conditions can help other buyers. There is no reward or requirement for a positive rating.

Leveraged CFDs can cause substantial losses. Stops and equity guards are not guaranteed loss ceilings, and backtests are simulations rather than live results. Past performance does not guarantee future results.