By William Harris · Last reviewed
How to Install MetaTrader 4 on Android (2026 step-by-step)
What you'll need
- • Android phone or tablet (Android 5.0 or later)
- • Google Play Store access
- • MT4 account number, password and server name from your broker
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Install MetaTrader 4 from Google Play
Open the Google Play Store and search for 'MetaTrader 4'. The official app is published by MetaQuotes Software Corp. — check the developer name before installing, because copycat apps with similar icons appear regularly. Tap Install; the download is about 60 MB.
If your broker offers a white-label branded version of MT4, you can install that instead — it is the same engine with the broker's server pre-selected. Either app works; the generic MetaQuotes build simply asks you to pick the server manually at login.
Do not install 'MetaTrader 5' by mistake if your account is an MT4 account — the two platforms use different account systems and an MT4 login will not work in the MT5 app.
Step 2: Connect to your broker's server and log in
Open the app, tap the menu (three lines) then Manage accounts, the plus icon, and 'Login to an existing account'. In the search box type your broker's name. The app queries the MetaQuotes server directory and lists matching servers, e.g. 'ICMarketsSC-Live04' or 'Pepperstone-Demo'.
Pick the exact server printed on your broker account email — there are usually several (Demo, Live01, Live02) and the login only works on the one your account was created on. Enter your numeric Login and password, then tap Sign In.
A green connection bar and a ping value (e.g. '34 ms') in the top-right corner confirm you are connected. A 'No connection' or 'Invalid account' message almost always means the wrong server, not a wrong password.
Step 3: Set up Quotes and read a chart
The Quotes tab lists symbols with live bid and ask. Tap the edit or plus icon to add instruments — EURUSD, GBPUSD, XAUUSD (gold may be labelled GOLD or XAU/USD by your broker). Tap a symbol then Chart to open it.
Use the toolbar to switch timeframe (M1 to MN), add indicators, and draw objects. Pinch to zoom. The Android charts are fully featured for analysis but display-only for automation — there is no Strategy Tester or Expert Advisor panel in the mobile app.
For news-driven traders, the in-app economic calendar shows upcoming high-impact events you would normally filter a robot around.
Step 4: Place a manual trade
From a chart or the Quotes list, tap a symbol then New Order. Choose the volume in lots (start tiny — 0.01), set Stop Loss and Take Profit in price terms, and choose Market Execution or a pending order type.
Double-check the lot size: on a standard account 1.00 lot is 100,000 units and moves roughly 10 USD per pip on EURUSD. New mobile users routinely fat-finger 1.0 lots when they meant 0.01. Swipe the Buy or Sell button to confirm.
Open positions appear under the Trade tab with live profit. Tap a position to modify the Stop Loss or Take Profit, or to close it. Closing is manual — the app will not auto-manage trades while your screen is off.
Step 5: Understand the EA limit and the VPS path
MetaTrader 4 for Android cannot run Expert Advisors (forex robots), custom scripts, or the Strategy Tester. This is a platform limitation in every MT4 and MT5 mobile app, not a setting you can enable — mobile operating systems suspend background apps, which would break a robot that must react to every price tick around the clock.
To run a forex robot you need the MT4 or MT5 desktop terminal kept online continuously, which in practice means a low-cost VPS (virtual private server) so the robot keeps trading when your computer is off. You then monitor that same account from this Android app in real time — the trades the robot opens on the VPS show up live on your phone.
That split — robot on a VPS, monitoring on mobile — is the standard setup for automated traders.
Common mistakes to avoid
- ✗ Installing a copycat 'MT4' appFix: Confirm the developer is 'MetaQuotes Software Corp.' (or your broker's official name) before installing. Fake MT4 apps harvest credentials.
- ✗ Choosing the wrong server at loginFix: Use the exact server string from your broker's account email (Live01 vs Live04). Wrong server returns 'Invalid account' even with correct credentials.
- ✗ Expecting a forex robot to run in the appFix: Mobile MT4 has no EA support. Run the EA on a desktop terminal or VPS and use the app only to monitor.
- ✗ Logging in with the investor (read-only) passwordFix: The investor password blocks order placement. Use the master password if you want to trade from the phone.
- ✗ Fat-fingering lot sizeFix: Start at 0.01 lots. On a standard account 1.0 lot is about 10 USD per pip — a 100x bigger position than most beginners intend.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run an EA or forex robot on MetaTrader 4 for Android?
Mobile operating systems aggressively suspend background apps to save battery, which is incompatible with an EA that must process every price tick around the clock. MetaQuotes therefore never shipped EA execution in the mobile builds. The standard workaround is a VPS: rent a small always-on server, run the desktop terminal with your EA there, and the positions it opens appear live in the Android app. See our 'set up a VPS' guide — the same approach applies to MT4.
Is MetaTrader 4 for Android free?
MetaQuotes monetises MetaTrader by licensing it to brokers, not by charging traders, so every official mobile build is free. Be wary of any third-party app that charges for 'MT4 Pro' — those are not official. Demo accounts are also free and unlimited, which makes the Android app a good way to practise reading charts and placing orders before funding a live account.
Should I use the MT4 or MT5 Android app?
The two mobile apps look almost identical but are not interchangeable: account numbers, servers and order histories live in separate ecosystems. If you hold both an MT4 and an MT5 account you simply install both apps. For automation specifically, check which platform your EA targets before committing — porting an MT4 robot to MT5 is a developer job, not a setting.
MetaTrader 4 is not showing in my Play Store — what now?
Google Play occasionally delists or geo-restricts financial apps. The safest fallbacks, in order: (1) your broker's own branded MT4 Android app, which they distribute through Play or directly; (2) the browser-based Web Terminal, which needs no install and runs the same account; (3) the official APK linked from your broker's website. Only use APKs that come directly from the broker or MetaQuotes.
Can the app alert me when my robot opens a trade?
The MetaQuotes ID is a per-device identifier in the mobile app settings. Paste it into the desktop terminal's notification settings and the terminal can send notifications to your phone. Many EAs also send a notification directly on each trade event, so you get an instant push when the robot acts. This is the cleanest way to keep tabs on a VPS-hosted robot from your Android device.
Want trades to run while your phone is asleep?
Mobile MT4 is monitor-and-manual only. To automate, run a vetted forex robot on a desktop terminal hosted on a VPS, then watch it live from this app. Our VPS guide gets you online in under 30 minutes.
Continue to: How to set up a VPS for MetaTrader →Related how-to guides
William Harris
Founder & Lead Developer of FxRobotEasy
Chicago, USA · Since 2021
- 12+ Years Live Trading
- 10+ Years MQL5 / MQL4
- 3 Live-Verified Expert Advisors
- Founded 2021
“I've been building things with code since middle school. I've been trading since university. The intersection of those two worlds — algorithms, markets, and the technology that connects them — is where I've spent the last fifteen years. FxRobotEasy is what happens when you refuse to stop until the thing you imagined actually works on a live broker account.”