Answers, sorted by what you’re doing.

Check the connection state first

Every connected account — in the Journal, on the Cockpit, or as a Signal Copier execution account — shows a state badge next to its name:

• Connecting… — the account is being provisioned. Normal for the first few minutes after adding an MT4 or MT5 account.
• Connected — synced and live.
• Error — the connection is broken and isn't producing fresh data.
• Disconnected — the account was removed.

Provisioning vs. error, in practice: a brand-new MT4/MT5 account sits in "Connecting…" while it's deployed on our side — that can take a few minutes, and it is not an error. cTrader accounts skip this step entirely: they connect over OAuth and are verified before being saved, so they land straight on "Connected." That means if a cTrader account shows "Error," something is actually wrong — it isn't just "still connecting."

An account that's already "Connected" can flip to "Error" later too. The background sync that keeps stats and open positions current retries on its own; it only marks an account "Error" after a few consecutive failed attempts, and it clears itself back to "Connected" the moment a sync succeeds again — so a short-lived blip usually resolves without you doing anything.

The four usual causes

Wrong broker server name

MT4/MT5 connections need the account number, the trade password, and the exact broker server string — not just the broker's name. "ICMarkets" isn't a server; "ICMarkets-Live01" is. Copy the server name exactly as it appears on your MT4/MT5 login screen, including the Live/Demo suffix — a live account pointed at a demo server fails the same way a typo does.

Use the account's full trade password, not a read-only or partner password — the connection needs trade access, not just viewing access.

Invalid credentials

If the account number, password, or server don't match what the broker has on file, the connection attempt fails immediately with a message telling you to check them. Nothing gets half-saved — fix the field that's wrong and submit again.

Broker-side maintenance

Brokers periodically take servers down for maintenance, most often on weekends. During that window a previously-healthy connection can start failing sync attempts and flip to "Error." This is the case that fixes itself — leave the account connected and it should clear once the broker's server is back up.

Expired cTrader authorization

cTrader connections don't use a stored password — they run on an OAuth grant that's refreshed automatically in the background before it expires. If that refresh itself fails, most commonly because access was revoked from your cTrader account settings or the grant went unused long enough to lapse, the account shows Error with the message *"cTrader authorization expired — please reconnect this account."*

Fixing it

• MT4/MT5 with a wrong password or server: the trade password isn't stored on our end once the account is connected, so it can't be edited in place. Remove the account and reconnect it with the correct number, password, and server.
• cTrader showing the expired-authorization error: no need to remove anything. Click Connect via cTrader → again, re-authorize, and pick the account — the connection repairs itself.
• Suspected broker maintenance: wait it out. If "Error" is still showing well after the broker's maintenance window should have ended, treat it as a real problem and work through the causes above.

Removing an account stops it syncing and takes it out of your plan's connected-account count. If you're reconnecting the same broker account right after, that's expected — you're re-adding it with corrected details, not losing it.

When to contact support

Reach out from Support in the app if:

• An MT4/MT5 account is stuck on "Connecting…" well past the first few minutes.
• "Error" persists after you've confirmed the server name, re-entered the trade password, and ruled out broker maintenance.
• A cTrader reconnect doesn't clear the error, or the OAuth flow itself fails partway through.

Include the account's name and platform when you write in — it's the fastest way for us to check what the connection is actually reporting on our side.