What an Expert Advisor is
An Expert Advisor is MetaTrader’s name for an automated strategy. You drop it on a chart, turn on AutoTrading, and it sends orders when its rules say so. Outside the platform, the same thing is usually called a trading robot or a forex robot. If you searched for an MT5 EA or an MT4 EA, this is that file.
MT4 and MT5 do not share EAs. A file built for MetaTrader 4 will not load in MetaTrader 5, and the other way around. Match the EA to the terminal your broker gave you. EA Trade supports both.
Where the EA actually runs
The iPhone and Android MetaTrader apps can show positions. They cannot load an Expert Advisor. The EA runs in the desktop terminal. If that window closes, the strategy stops, even if you can still see the account on your phone.
EA Trade keeps that terminal hosted. You use the app to connect your broker account, attach the EA, and check that AutoTrading is on. Lock the phone or shut the laptop. The hosted terminal is what the Expert Advisor needs, not the screen in your hand.
- Your EA and your broker login. The app does not replace the strategy.
- MT4 EAs and MT5 EAs on separate terminals, so you load the right build.
- Phone, iPad, and desktop browser on the same account. Install steps: iPhone, PC and Mac.
Picking an EA
Bring one you already use, or look through mentors on the Mentor MarketPlace. An Expert Advisor with a smooth test can still lose on a live account. Size, spread, and news matter more than the label on the file. App access is R550 once. That price is for the control panel and the hosting, not for a guaranteed EA.