Everything you need, start to finish. Around 20 minutes, most of which is waiting for the broker to open your account. You should not need to ask us anything - but if you do get stuck, the troubleshooting section at the bottom covers every problem we have seen.
Use the button below. It has to be this link, because the free access is funded by the broker paying us a commission on your trading volume - that is the whole deal, and it costs you nothing extra.
Open my Vantage accountReferral code: . Disclosure: we receive a commission from the broker if you open an account through this link. It comes out of their spread revenue, never out of your money, and it does not change your costs.
The moment your account is approved, Vantage send you an email containing the three things you need. Keep that email.
If you cannot find the email, all of it is in the Vantage client portal: log in on their website, open My Accounts, and your login number and server are listed against each account. You can reset the password there too.
Already logged in to MT5? Your login number is in the Navigator panel on the left, under Accounts, and it is shown in the title bar at the top of the window.
Vantage usually create a demo account alongside your live one. They have different login numbers and different servers. Register the account you actually intend to trade, and check the title bar in MT5 says the right one before you let the algo run.
Then deposit. Minimum that works properly is £200. Below that your broker's 0.01 minimum lot size means a lot of trades simply cannot be placed. Deposit inside the Vantage client portal once your account is approved. Card and bank transfer are usually instant to a few hours.
Vantage sometimes offer a deposit bonus. It is credit for margin only - you cannot withdraw it and it does not absorb your losses, which come out of your own money first. It is useful, but it is not extra money. You have to opt in yourself in the client portal, and withdrawing later removes a matching slice of it.
The algo runs inside MetaTrader 5, so this has to exist before anything else works.
Vantage will send you a download link when your account is approved, or download MT5 from their site. Install it, open it once so it sets itself up, then close it. Our installer looks for it and will stop with an error if it has never been run.
This is the key you were given when you registered. Keep it somewhere safe.
Lost it? Go back to the main page and click "Already registered? Get your key back" under the join button. Your email and Vantage account number will bring it straight back.
Download the setup fileClick the AutoTrading button at the top of MetaTrader so it turns green.
MetaTrader deliberately will not let any program switch that on for you - letting software trade your money is a decision only you can make. Leave it red and both algos load, sit on the charts, and never place a trade. Check each chart shows a smiley face in the top right, not a sad face.
That is genuinely it. The installer checks your key, installs both algos, writes your key and our server address into the settings, builds a "Start APEX Algo" shortcut on your desktop and opens MT5 for you.
If Windows shows a blue "Windows protected your PC" box, click More info then Run anyway. That appears because the file is new, not because anything is wrong with it.
This is the only step we cannot do for you, because it needs your password.
In MT5: File > Log in to Trade Account. Enter the login number Vantage emailed you, your password, and pick your server from the list (it is in the same email).
Look at the top right corner of each chart. You want a smiley face next to the algo name. Two charts, two smiley faces, and you are done.
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Smiley face | Running. Nothing else to do. |
| Sad face | AutoTrading is off. Click the AutoTrading button in the toolbar so it turns green. |
| No face at all | The algo is not on the chart. Close MT5 and start it again from the desktop shortcut. |
Do not expect a trade straight away. The engines only trade during specific sessions, and only when their setup appears. A quiet first day is completely normal.
| UK time | What is active |
|---|---|
| 08:00 - 12:00 | London engines on NASDAQ and gold |
| 14:30 - 16:00 | New York open - the busiest window |
| 16:00 - 20:45 | Late gold engines |
| Weekends | Nothing. Markets are shut. |
Outside those hours the algos are awake but deliberately doing nothing. Around 8 trades a day across both markets is typical, but some days there are none.
Yes. The algos run inside MT5 on your machine, so if it sleeps or shuts down they stop trading. Any position already open keeps its stop loss and take profit at the broker, so nothing is left unprotected - you just miss new trades.
If you do not want to leave a PC on, rent a VPS (a small always-on Windows machine in the cloud). Around £10 to £20 a month. Vantage offer one free above certain volumes, and most MT5 brokers list VPS options inside the platform under Tools.
Right click the chart, Expert Advisors > Properties, then change InpRiskPercent. Do it on both charts.
It ships at 3%. In our testing 4% made more with deeper falls, and 5% lost the entire account in 2 of the 8 periods we tested. Read the risk table on the main page before you raise it.
Click the AutoTrading button in the MT5 toolbar. It turns red and no new trades are opened. Trades already running carry on to their stop or target.
To stop completely, close MT5. To remove it for good, right click each chart and choose Expert Advisors > Remove.
Almost certainly not. Check the session table above - outside those windows nothing happens by design. Then check for a smiley face on both charts and that AutoTrading is green. If both are fine, it is simply waiting for a setup. Quiet days are normal and so are quiet weeks.
Losing months are part of it, not a sign something is wrong. In our published record roughly one month in four was red (5 of the 19), and the account fell 79% from its high at the worst point. Anyone who sold at the bottom of that locked in the loss.
Every figure we publish is a historical simulation, not a promise. Your results will differ, and losing money is a real possibility. Only ever use money you can afford to lose completely.
Technically it will run on any MT5 broker offering NAS100 and XAUUSD. But the free access exists because our partner broker pays us commission on your volume, so it is only free on an account opened through our link. It was also built and tested on their exact feed and spreads.
No. MT5 on mobile cannot run algorithms - that is an MT5 limitation, not ours. You need Windows, or a VPS. You can watch your account from the phone app perfectly well, you just cannot run the algos there.
MT5 needs to be installed and opened once before the installer can find it. Install it from Vantage, open it once, close it, then run APEX-INSTALL.bat again. The installer will also offer to download MetaTrader for you if it is missing.
Your key could not be confirmed with our server. Check you are online. If you have just registered it can take a few minutes. The algos keep trading for 48 hours while this sorts itself out, so there is no rush.
Usually leverage. Check your account is set to 1:500 in the Vantage portal - on lower leverage the account cannot support several positions at once. If your balance is under £200, some trades cannot be sized at all.
Always start it from the Start APEX Algo desktop shortcut, not the normal MetaTrader icon. The shortcut is what loads both algos onto their charts.
Work down this list: AutoTrading green in the toolbar, smiley face on both charts, logged in to your account (bottom right does not say "No connection"), and the clock is inside one of the session windows above. That covers almost every case.
Email theogoodsmithmtb@gmail.com with your licence key and what you have tried. We are a small operation, so give us a day.
Educational software, not investment advice or managed trading. Results are never guaranteed and losses are possible. We are not a broker and never hold your money - it stays in your own account with Vantage, and you can withdraw it whenever you like.