MT5 + Tick Data Suite — Troubleshooting

    Solutions for the most common problems, roughly in order of how often we see them.

← Back to MT5 Quick Start

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• The symbol linking window is empty
• I don't see "About Tick Data Suite" in the MT5 Help menu
• My backtest candles are shifted by a few hours
• My backtest shows "No history data" or clearly uses broker data
• Automatic Scan didn't find my MT5
• A custom symbol I just created doesn't show up in the association window
• The GMT column is blank after Automatic Scan
• I see "About Tick Data Suite" in the View menu, but the backtest still ignores my data
• I changed the GMT/DST but the backtest is still wrong
• Still stuck?

The symbol linking window is empty

    This is by far the most common issue. The Tick Data Suite for MT5 only shows custom symbols, not your broker's built-in symbols.

    If you have created custom symbols and the list is still empty, make sure they're shown in Market Watch inside MT5. Custom symbols hidden from Market Watch don't appear in the symbol linking window.

I don't see "About Tick Data Suite" in the MT5 Help menu

    The Tick Data Suite isn't connected to that MT5 terminal. Check, in order:

• Is the terminal linked? Open the MT5 Terminal Manager in Tick Data Manager. The TDS link checkbox should be ticked. If it's not, tick it. See Connecting MT5 terminals.
• Did you link it while MT5 was running? Close MT5 completely and start it again.
• Do you have more than one MT5 installed? Check Help → About in MT5 and compare the full path with the path shown in the MT5 Terminal Manager. It's easy to connect one MT5 to the Tick Data Suite and accidentally launch a different one.

My backtest candles are shifted by a few hours

    Your GMT or DST setting doesn't match the broker's server time.

My backtest shows "No history data" or clearly uses broker data

    Almost always one of these:

1. You picked the built-in symbol instead of the _TDS version in the Strategy Tester. Select EURUSD_TDS, not EURUSD.
2. You didn't click "Update MT5 data" after linking symbols. Go back to Linking MT5 custom symbols to tick data and click it.
3. You haven't downloaded tick data for that symbol yet. See Downloading tick data.
4. MT5 was running when you made changes. If MT5 was open when you changed symbol associations or downloaded new data, close it and start it again so it picks up the refreshed data.

Automatic Scan didn't find my MT5

• Is it a portable MT5? Use Add MT5 Terminal to add it manually — portable mode is detected automatically. See Connecting MT5 terminals.
• Is MT5 in a non-standard folder? Same fix — add it manually.

A custom symbol I just created doesn't show up in the association window

    The symbol list is cached. Click Rescan in the symbol linking window to reload it from MT5. Make sure the custom symbol is also visible in MT5's Market Watch.

The GMT column is blank after Automatic Scan

    Automatic Scan only fills in what it can auto-detect. Set GMT and DST manually in the Terminal Manager. See Connecting MT5 terminals.

I see "About Tick Data Suite" in the View menu, but the backtest still ignores my data

    Did you click Update MT5 data after your last change? Every time you change a symbol link, GMT/DST, or download new data, you need to either click Update MT5 data (for everything) or the refresh icon (for a single symbol) in the association window. Then restart MT5 if it was already running.

I changed the GMT/DST but the backtest is still wrong

    Changing GMT/DST invalidates the cache — you need to:

1. Click Update MT5 data in the association window to regenerate it with the new timezone.
2. Close and reopen MT5 so it reads the refreshed cache.

Still stuck?

Return to: MT5 Quick Start