PRA Command Center — Self-Help

Command Center Help

Most things you'll run into aren't bugs — they're the app's own safety checks doing their job. This is a plain-language guide to what each one means and what to actually do about it, organized the same way you'll encounter them.

01

Connection & Setup

The app is really two programs talking to each other: itself, and your MT5 terminal. Most first-time issues are one of these two not being able to see the other.

Blocks trading MT5 NOT CONNECTED

Shown in the top bar. The app can't read a real account balance from your MetaTrader 5 terminal — either it isn't running, isn't logged into a broker account, or lost its connection.

Try this
  1. Make sure MetaTrader 5 is actually open on this computer.
  2. Check you're logged into your broker account inside MT5 (bottom-right of the MT5 window shows the connection status).
  3. If MT5 looks fine but this still shows, close and reopen Command Center.
Blocks everything BACKEND OFFLINE

The app's own trading engine (a background process, separate from the window you're looking at) isn't responding. The dashboard falls back to sample data so the screen isn't blank, but nothing real is happening.

Try this
  1. Fully close Command Center (check it's not still running in the background) and relaunch it.
  2. If it keeps happening, your antivirus may be quarantining a file it shouldn't — check its quarantine/history for anything related to "runner" or "api_server".
Setup SignalReceiver doesn't appear in MT5's Navigator panel

The Expert Advisor (EA) file didn't land in the folder MT5 actually looks in.

Try this
  1. In MT5: File → Open Data Folder → MQL5 → Experts.
  2. Confirm SignalReceiver.ex5 is directly inside that Experts folder (not a subfolder).
  3. Right-click "Expert Advisors" in the Navigator panel and choose Refresh.
02

Trade Execution (EA Link)

Even with MT5 connected, the app still needs its Expert Advisor attached and listening on a chart to actually place trades. "EA LINK" in the top bar covers this specifically.

No trades will fire AutoTrading is turned off in the MT5 terminal

MT5 has a master switch that blocks every EA at once, regardless of anything Command Center does.

Try this

Click the "Algo Trading" button in MT5's main toolbar — it should turn green. If it's grey/red, click it.

Every trade duplicated Multiple copies of the EA are currently attached to charts

The EA is attached to more than one chart at once. It's designed to refuse new trades the moment it detects this — attaching it twice doesn't add capacity, it silently doubles every order.

Try this

In MT5, right-click every chart except one → Expert Advisors → Remove. The EA only ever needs to be on a single chart — it trades whichever pair the app tells it to, not just the one it's sitting on.

Investigate EA is attached and ticking, but hasn't confirmed the last few trade signals

The app is sending instructions but the EA isn't acting on them — usually a broker-side order rejection.

Try this

Open MT5's "Experts" tab (bottom panel) and look for a red error line around the time this happened — it'll usually name the actual reason (e.g. market closed, invalid stops, no money).

03

"Why Isn't It Trading?"

By far the most common question — and almost always the app working correctly, not broken. It's built to skip far more often than it trades.

Normal No aligned setup · ADX too weak · HTF conflict · Bullish but momentum too weak

These are the strategy actively deciding not to trade because current conditions don't meet its own criteria. This is the strategy working, not stalling — a good setup might be minutes or hours away, and that's expected. It scans continuously and will trade the moment conditions line up.

Normal Nothing happening on Saturday/Sunday, or seeing stale weekend prices

Forex markets close for the weekend. No strategy trades what isn't moving.

Check settings Autonomous mode is off — new trades paused (existing positions still managed)

The autonomy toggle is switched off — either you turned it off, or it's never been turned on.

Try this

Settings → flip the Autonomy toggle on, if you want the app trading on its own again. Anything already open keeps being managed either way.

Automatic, temporary Cooldown after failures — X min left

A built-in circuit breaker: after several losses/failures in a row, the app pauses new trades for a short window rather than repeating whatever isn't working. It resumes on its own.

Try this

Nothing needed — just wait it out. If this triggers often, it's worth reviewing your risk settings rather than waiting it out repeatedly.

Account size issue Skip — insufficient margin: need ~$X free, have $Y

Your broker doesn't have enough free margin in the account to open even the smallest possible trade right now — often because an existing open position is already using most of the account. This is the broker's own math, not a setting in the app; sending the order anyway would just get rejected as [No money], so it's skipped before that happens.

Try this
  1. Check the Margin Level figure in the top bar (see next item).
  2. Consider depositing more funds, or ask your broker whether this account qualifies for higher leverage.
Watch closely Margin Level showing red (below 200%)

This is how close your account is to your broker forcibly closing positions for you (a "stop-out") — brokers typically do this somewhere between 50–100% margin level. The app refuses new trades well above that line for safety, but a red reading means real room is getting thin.

Try this

Not an emergency by itself, but worth attention: consider adding funds, or let existing positions close naturally before expecting new ones to open.

04

License & Plan

Automated and manual trading both require an active subscription — verified live against your account, not just a key typed in once.

Blocks new trades No active license — new trades paused

No valid key on file, or your subscription has lapsed.

Try this
  1. Settings → Accounts → paste your license key → Activate.
  2. Don't have it handy? It's on your account dashboard at pra-futures.com.
  3. If it was working before, check your subscription/payment status on your dashboard — a failed card is the most common cause.
Plan limit This license is already active on another device — deactivate one from your dashboard first

Standard licenses work on 1 installation at a time; Pro allows up to 3. You've hit that limit.

Try this
  1. Go to your dashboard on pra-futures.com and deactivate an old/unused device, or
  2. Upgrade to Pro for up to 3 devices at once.
Plan limit Account equity is over the $10,000 Standard plan limit

Standard is priced for accounts up to $10,000 in equity. New trades pause once you grow past that — anything already open keeps being fully managed regardless.

Try this

Upgrade to Pro (no equity cap) at pra-futures.com/pricing.

Pro feature Detailed trade logging toggle won't turn on

Detailed logging and log export are Pro-plan features.

Try this

Upgrade to Pro if you want this. Otherwise, standard trade history/journaling (Settings-independent) still works normally.

05

Risk Warnings

A few things the app deliberately makes you look at before it'll trade real money.

Read before dismissing Small Account — Higher Real Risk Per Trade

On a small account, your broker's minimum possible trade size (usually 0.01 lots) can risk a much bigger slice of your equity per trade than your own risk-percent setting intends — the minimum simply can't scale down any further. This isn't a bug, it's a real mechanical limit.

Try this

Read the numbers shown, then either acknowledge to keep trading with that understanding, or leave trading paused until the account is funded further.

Setting Manual trading buttons are greyed out

Manual trading is off by default and requires explicitly acknowledging the risk first, same as automated trading.

Try this

Settings → acknowledge the risk → enable the Manual Trading toggle.

06

Installing

Two warnings you'll likely see once, from Windows itself — not from the app, and not signs of a virus.

Expected, one-time "Windows protected your PC" (SmartScreen)

Windows shows this for any new installer from a publisher it doesn't yet recognize as high-volume — it's about publisher reputation, not a scan result.

Try this

Click "More info", then "Run anyway".

Check quarantine Antivirus flags or removes a file after install

Some antivirus tools are aggressive toward any new, unsigned trading-related executable — a false positive, not a detection of anything real.

Try this

Check your antivirus's quarantine/history and restore the file if it was removed; add an exception for the Command Center install folder if this keeps happening.

07

General

Check first Prices/numbers on screen look frozen or stale
Try this
  1. Check the MT5 connection status in the top bar first — a stale screen almost always traces back to that.
  2. Check your internet connection.
  3. Relaunch the app if both look fine and it still hasn't moved.
Self-serve Lost your license key
Try this

It's always visible on your account dashboard at pra-futures.com — no need to contact support just to retrieve it.

Still stuck?

Most in-app messages already say exactly what's wrong in plain language — if something isn't covered here, the status text itself is usually the best starting point. Otherwise, reach out through your account dashboard at pra-futures.com.