How to Set Up Price Alerts on MT5

Price alerts in MetaTrader 5 let you be notified when a market reaches a defined level, when a specific time arrives, or when volume conditions are met. Instead of having to watch the screen constantly, you can set an alert and let MT5 deliver a notification by sound, file, email, or push notification to a mobile device.

This guide covers what MT5 alerts can do, how to create an alert from the Alerts tab in the Toolbox window, the meaning of each parameter in the alert dialog, how to set up email alerts and push notifications to a mobile device, how to manage existing alerts, and the small differences between MT5 alerts and MT4 alerts.

What MT5 Alerts Can Do

MT5 alerts are conditional triggers. You define a condition (typically a price level), an action (sound, file, email, or push notification), and a few control parameters (how often to re-fire, how many times to fire, when to expire). MT5 then monitors the market in the background and fires the action when the condition is met.

Common uses include waiting for a key price level to be reached before considering an entry, being notified if the market has moved into an area where it would no longer be a good entry, monitoring time-based events such as session opens, or being notified of an unusual volume reading.

Alerts do not place trades automatically. They only notify. To act on an alert, you still need to open the platform and place the order manually, or use an Expert Advisor for automated execution.

How to Set Up an Alert on MT5

The Alerts tab in MT5 is part of the Toolbox window. To open it, press Ctrl+T to toggle the Toolbox if it is not already visible, then click the Alerts tab.

The Alerts tab shows any existing alerts in a table. To create a new alert, right-click anywhere inside the tab and select Create from the context menu. The alert editor dialog opens.

Configure the fields described in the next section, then click OK. The alert is added to the list and becomes active immediately, provided the Enable checkbox in the dialog is ticked.

Alert Parameters Explained

The alert editor dialog has the following fields.

Enable: a checkbox at the top. When ticked, the alert is active. Untick to pause an alert without deleting it.

Action: the action that fires when the condition is met. The options are:

• Sound: plays a sound file from the MT5/Sounds folder.
• File: runs a specified executable or opens a specified file.
• Mail: sends an email to the address configured in Tools > Options > Email.
• Notification: sends a push notification to a mobile device registered with the platform.

Symbol: the instrument to monitor. The dropdown lists all symbols available in the Market Watch.

Condition: the trigger condition. The options are Bid > value, Bid < value, Ask > value, Ask < value, Last > value, Last < value, Volume > value, Volume < value, and Time = value. Bid and Ask are used for live quote conditions on forex and CFD instruments. Last is more relevant for instruments where the last-trade price is the natural reference. Time-based alerts fire when the platform clock matches the specified time.

Value: the threshold the condition checks against. For a price condition this is a price level. For a time condition this is a time (in HH:MM format).

Source: the source for the action. For Sound, this is the .wav file to play. For File, this is the file or program to run. For Mail and Notification, the Source field is not used.

Timeout: the minimum interval between repeated fires of the same alert, in seconds. Setting this prevents the alert from firing repeatedly while the condition stays satisfied.

Maximum iterations: the total number of times the alert is allowed to fire before stopping automatically. Setting this to 1 means the alert fires once and stops.

Expiration: a date and time after which the alert is automatically removed. Useful for time-sensitive alerts.

After configuring, click OK to save. Click Test before saving to fire the action once and confirm it is configured correctly.

Email Alerts

To use the Mail action, email must be configured in MT5 first.

Go to Tools > Options > Email tab. Tick the Enable checkbox. Fill in:

• SMTP server: the outgoing mail server of your email provider, including the port number where required.
• SMTP login: the email account username.
• SMTP password: the password for the email account.
• From: the sender address shown on outgoing alert emails.
• To: the recipient address that receives the alerts.

Click Test to send a test email. If the test succeeds, alerts with the Mail action will deliver to the configured address.

Note: many email providers require an app-specific password or special permissions for SMTP access, particularly for accounts protected by two-factor authentication. The exact setup depends on the provider. Deliverability is not guaranteed; emails can be delayed by spam filters or server load.

Push Notifications to Mobile

The Notification action sends a push notification to a mobile device running the MT5 mobile app. Setup requires a MetaQuotes ID, which is a unique identifier generated by the mobile app and entered into the desktop platform.

To get the MetaQuotes ID: install MT5 on a mobile device (iOS or Android), open the app, and navigate to Settings > Messages (the exact label varies by build). The MetaQuotes ID is displayed there as a string of digits.

To enter the ID into desktop MT5: go to Tools > Options > Notifications tab. Tick Enable Push Notifications. Paste the MetaQuotes ID into the field. Click Test to send a test notification.

Once configured, any alert with the Notification action delivers to the registered mobile device. Notifications arrive even if the mobile app is closed, as long as the device is online and notifications are enabled at the operating system level.

Push notifications are a service provided by MetaQuotes (the platform vendor), not by TIOmarkets specifically.

Managing and Removing Alerts

The Alerts tab in the Toolbox shows all alerts currently configured. Each row shows the symbol, condition, value, action, and other settings.

To edit an alert, double-click the row, or right-click and select Modify. The editor reopens.

To enable or disable an alert without deleting it, untick or tick the Enable checkbox in the editor, or right-click the row and use the available toggle (which varies by build).

To delete an alert, right-click the row and select Delete. To clear all alerts at once, right-click in the tab and select Delete All.

When an alert fires, MT5 records the event in the Journal tab of the Toolbox. This is useful for confirming whether the alert actually triggered and whether the action completed successfully.

Differences From MT4 Alerts

The MT5 alert system is functionally close to the MT4 alert system. The main differences are terminology and a few feature nuances.

In MT5, the alerts table lives in the Toolbox window. In MT4, the equivalent table lives in the Terminal window. The keyboard shortcut Ctrl+T opens both, but the window has different names on each platform.

MT5 supports the same action types (Sound, File, Mail, Notification) and the same condition options (Bid, Ask, Last, Volume, Time). The Last condition is more useful in MT5 because the platform supports a wider range of instrument types, including exchange-traded instruments where last-trade price is the natural reference.

Email and push notification setup is identical on both platforms.

Alerts on Mobile

The MT5 mobile app has its own alert system, separate from the desktop alerts. To set a mobile alert, open the app, navigate to the Alerts section (typically under the menu or a dedicated tab depending on the build), and tap to create a new alert. Configure the symbol, condition, and value similarly to the desktop.

Mobile alerts deliver via push notification to the same device. They do not synchronise with desktop alerts; alerts set on desktop stay on desktop, and alerts set on mobile stay on mobile.

The mobile interface is more compact, but the core fields (symbol, condition, value) are equivalent.

Practical Considerations

Alerts fire only when the condition is met based on the data the platform is receiving. If the platform connection is interrupted, alerts cannot fire during the interruption. For mission-critical alerts, ensure the platform is running on a stable connection or consider running it on a virtual private server.

The Timeout parameter matters for noisy conditions. If a price condition is set narrowly, the market can move back and forth across the threshold and fire the alert many times in quick succession. A reasonable Timeout (such as 60 seconds) prevents notification fatigue.

The Maximum iterations parameter is useful when you only want to be notified once. Setting it to 1 means the alert fires the first time the condition is met and then stops.

For time-based alerts, the time is in MetaTrader server time. Confirm the server time in the platform clock display before setting a time-based alert, particularly across time zones.

Email and push notifications depend on external infrastructure. SMTP server availability, mobile network coverage, and operating system notification settings all affect delivery. Test the configuration before relying on it.

Trading at TIOmarkets

TIOmarkets offers MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4 on desktop, web, and mobile, across four account types. The Standard account is created automatically on registration with a minimum deposit of $20 or currency equivalent. The Raw and VIP Black accounts are opened separately through the client area. The Nano account is MT5 only with a $20 minimum deposit, USD only. Hedging is supported on all accounts. A swap-free Islamic account is available; contact TIOmarkets for eligibility and instrument requirements. Copy trading is available on both MT4 and MT5.

Orders are executed at the best available market price, which may result in positive or negative slippage. Demo accounts often execute instantly and may not fully replicate live slippage conditions. Spreads are variable and are typically higher than minimum figures shown. Leverage on each instrument is subject to change depending on market conditions and applicable regulatory requirements.