Donaldson R F Trading Infrastructure
Convert an MT4 Expert Advisor to MT5
Your MetaTrader 4 robot or indicator translated from MQL4 into MQL5, matched to the original behaviour.
The Problem
Your broker has dropped, or is dropping, MetaTrader 4, and a system that works for you lives in MQL4. MetaTrader 5 uses a different language and a different trading model, so the file cannot simply be opened there.
About this problem
MetaTrader 5 is faster and more robust for algorithmic trading and backtesting, and many brokers are dropping MetaTrader 4. A migration is often incomplete if only the Expert Advisor is converted and its indicators are left behind, so the price covers the robot and the indicators it needs.
The price is for a standard case: one Expert Advisor of normal size with up to a few custom indicators. A larger set is looked at first, and I tell you before any additional chargeable work.
What's Included
- Translation of the MQL4 logic of one Expert Advisor into modern MQL5 code
- Conversion of the indicators it depends on, so the migration is not left half done
- Behaviour matched to the original wherever it is technically possible, with differences between the platforms explained
- Side-by-side testing of the old and new versions before you switch
- Delivery of the compiled MT5 file with installation instructions
- A 7-day window after delivery with up to 3 corrections for genuine bugs
What's NOT Included
- Redesigning or improving the strategy. The aim is the same behaviour on the new platform
- Files you only have compiled (.ex4). I need the MQL4 source
- Perfect identical results in every case. MT4 and MT5 differ in order handling, history and testing, so small differences can appear and I explain them
- Hosting, VPS setup or broker account changes
- Any promise of profit, of a particular return or of a limit on loss. An Expert Advisor carries out your rules exactly; whether the rules make money is down to the strategy and the market.
- Decompiling, copying or reverse engineering anybody else's robot. I write original code from rules you can document, or I work on code you have the right to give me.
How It Works
- You send the MQL4 source files (the .mq4 files) and a short description of how the system should behave.
- I review the code and list anything that works differently in MT5, such as hedging mode, order types or history access.
- I translate the logic and the indicators into MQL5.
- I run the old and new versions side by side on the same data and compare the trades.
- I deliver the MT5 files, a note of any differences, and the 7-day window for genuine bugs.
In practice: you buy the service, send over whatever access or details the job needs, I investigate and do the work, and you confirm it's resolved before we call it done.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do you convert indicators too, or only Expert Advisors?
- Both. A migration is often incomplete if the indicators are left behind, so the ones the robot depends on are included.
- Why move from MetaTrader 4 to 5 at all?
- Many brokers are dropping MT4, and MT5 is a faster, more robust platform for automated trading and testing, with a more modern language.
- Will the converted robot behave exactly the same?
- As closely as is technically possible. The two platforms handle orders and history differently, so I test them side by side and tell you about any difference.
- I only have the .ex4 file. Can you convert it?
- No. I need the .mq4 source. I do not decompile other people's software.
- Is the conversion a good time to change the strategy?
- It is better not to. Convert first, check it behaves the same, then change one thing at a time.
- What if the code uses a library or DLL?
- Tell me before you order. Where a DLL is involved I check whether it can be replaced or kept, and tell you what that means.