Find your symptom below. Each fix is the one that solves it nine times out of ten. If none of them do, reply to any SniperJournal email — say what you tried and paste the exact message you see — and Mark will sort it with you.
Signing up and signing in
I never got the confirmation email. Check spam/promotions for a message from SniperJournal titled Confirm your SniperJournal account. Not there? Go to the sign-in page, enter your email and password — if the account isn't confirmed yet you'll see a Resend link button right there. Gmail users: also check the Updates tab.
"That link has expired or was already used." Two different causes, two different fixes:
- You clicked it more than 24 hours after signing up — on that page click Send a new link (or sign up again with the same email — it doesn't create a second account, it just sends a fresh link).
- You clicked it within 24 hours, maybe twice — each link works once. If you already opened it (or your mail app / a company mail scanner opened it for you), your email is already confirmed and the second click shows this page. Don't sign up again — press Sign in on that page, enter your email and password, and the app opens onboarding. Signing up again at this point just says "An account with this email already exists", which is the same answer: sign in.
I signed up and no email came, so I signed up again with a different address. Check the first address for a typo (hotmzil.fr, marin3 instead of martin3) — a mistyped address gets nothing. The account you did confirm is the one to use; the others stay empty and unconfirmed and can be ignored, or reply to any SniperJournal email and Mark will remove them.
"An account with this email already exists." You already signed up — and if you got this after clicking Send a new link, your email is already confirmed too. Use Sign in, or Forgot password on the sign-in page to set a new one.
I signed in but the app says to confirm my email. Open the latest confirmation email and click the button. Older links from earlier emails are cancelled when a new one is sent — always use the newest.
I clicked the confirmation link and got the sign-in page instead of onboarding. The link normally signs you in and opens onboarding by itself. You get the sign-in page when the app couldn't keep you signed in on that device (a mail app's built-in browser, a link opened on a different device than the signup, or a mail scanner that opened it first). Not an error: your address is confirmed and your email is already filled in — enter your password once and onboarding opens. If you don't remember the password, Forgot password on that page sends a reset link.
MetaTrader (MT4 / MT5 add-on)
Start by opening the Experts tab (MT5: Toolbox → Experts; MT4: Terminal → Experts). Every SniperJournal message starts with SniperJournal: and tells you what's wrong.
SniperJournal: set your ApiKey in the EA inputs. The sync key is empty. Right-click the chart → Expert List (MT4) or press F7 with the chart selected → Inputs → paste your key into ApiKey. Get it from Accounts → Connect MetaTrader → Copy.
SniperJournal: add … to Tools > Options > Expert Advisors > Allow WebRequest … or WebRequest error 4014 (MT4: 4060) The terminal is blocking the connection. Tools → Options → Expert Advisors → tick Allow WebRequest for listed URL → add https://journal.marksfxacademy.com (the site only — no /api/..., no trailing slash) → OK. Then remove and re-attach the EA, or restart the terminal. This is the most common problem by far.
SniperJournal: server replied 401: Unknown sync key The key in the EA doesn't match your account — usually a copy-paste with a missing character, or you clicked Regenerate after pasting. Copy the key again from Accounts and paste it into ApiKey.
SniperJournal: server replied 403: Automatic sync comes with Regular and Pro (older versions: Live sync is a Pro feature) The EA works but your plan doesn't include automatic sync. Upgrade on Billing, or import a statement instead — that works on every plan.
server replied 403: Account limit reached for your plan Each plan has an account cap: Regular 2, Pro 5 (Starter 1, file import only). Either you're attaching the EA to a terminal login beyond your cap — Remove an account you no longer trade on the Accounts page and the next push creates the new one — or the plan dropped (a cancelled or failed subscription): check Billing.
server replied 400: Unreadable trade time … or 400: Invalid payload … The add-on sent something the journal couldn't read — almost always an edited or very old copy of the file. Download SniperJournalSync again from Accounts → Connect MetaTrader, replace the file in MQL5/Experts (or MQL4/Experts), right-click Expert Advisors → Refresh in Navigator, and re-attach it with the same sync key. If the same line comes back, reply with the exact message — it names the trade time it choked on, which is all Mark needs.
server replied 500 / 502 / 503 / 504 That's the journal, not you — a deploy or a busy moment. Nothing to fix and nothing is lost: the add-on tries again by itself a minute later, and re-sends your whole history every 15 minutes while the terminal runs and sends everything it hasn't delivered yet. If the same code keeps appearing for more than an hour, reply with the time and the message.
Nothing in the Experts tab at all. The EA isn't running. Check: a smiley face (MT4) or a hat icon (MT5) in the chart's top-right corner, AutoTrading / Algo Trading button green in the toolbar, and Allow algorithmic/automated trading ticked in Tools → Options → Expert Advisors. Also make sure the file is in MQL5/Experts (or MQL4/Experts), not Indicators or Scripts.
MT4: only my last few days came in. MT4 only shows the EA what's loaded in the terminal. Terminal → Account History → right-click → All History, then wait for the next full push (up to 15 minutes) or re-attach the EA.
The account shows "stale" in SniperJournal / last sync is days old. The EA only runs while the terminal is open. Open MetaTrader and the EA catches up on everything you closed since — nothing is lost. For hands-off syncing, run the terminal on a VPS (your broker's, or MT5's built-in Tools → Options → VPS), or switch the account to Quick connect, which syncs from the cloud without the terminal. Also check the terminal didn't log out: a disconnected terminal (red/green bars bottom-right) can't push.
I got a new PC / reinstalled MetaTrader. Do the install again (MT5 / MT4) with the same sync key. Trades already in SniperJournal aren't duplicated.
I changed broker or opened a second account. Same EA, same key, on the new terminal. SniperJournal creates a separate account for each MetaTrader login automatically.
I'm on a Mac and can't find the Experts folder. Don't search for it — in the terminal use File → Open Data Folder and Finder opens exactly where the file goes (MQL5/Experts or MQL4/Experts). The Mac MT5 app runs the add-on like Windows does; MT4 on a Mac is a broker-packaged wrapper and occasionally refuses WebRequest — if error 4060 persists after the Allow WebRequest step, use Quick connect, which needs no terminal at all.
I only trade on my phone — there's no "Experts" anywhere. Right: the MetaTrader phone apps can't run add-ons and can't export a statement either. Two ways in, both from the phone: Quick connect (Pro — login, investor password and server on the Accounts page, synced from the cloud), or install the desktop terminal on any computer once, log in, export a statement and import it (every plan). TradeLocker students: Connect TradeLocker is already install-free.
MetaTrader quick connect (login + password)
"Could not connect: …" right after clicking Connect account. The broker rejected the login. In order of likelihood: the server name isn't exact (copy it from MetaTrader → File → Login to Trade Account, e.g. ICMarketsSC-MT5, FTMO-Server — not the broker's website), you picked MT4 for an MT5 account or the other way round, or the password is wrong (investor or main password both work, but it must be the current one). Fix the field and click Connect account again.
Stuck on "connecting" for more than 10 minutes. The cloud terminal is still starting or the broker is slow to accept the login. Press Sync now; if the message still says Broker connection is … / …, wait ten more minutes and try once more. Still stuck after half an hour: Remove the account and connect again, double-checking the server name. Prop-firm servers that are down for maintenance (weekend rollovers are common) show the same thing — try during market hours.
It connected but only brought in the last year. By design: the first sync pulls 12 months. For older trades export a statement from the terminal and import it into the same account — nothing is duplicated.
Account status "error" after it was working. Your MetaTrader password changed, or the account was closed / the challenge ended. Remove the account and connect again with the current login — see Quick connect. Removing deletes the account's trades in SniperJournal (you're asked to confirm); the reconnect brings 12 months back.
I don't want to give you my trading password. Use your broker's investor password (read-only, can't trade) — or skip quick connect entirely and use the MT5 / MT4 sync add-on, where nothing but your trade history ever leaves your computer.
TradeLocker
"TradeLocker login failed …" One of email, password or server is wrong. Open TradeLocker in the browser and check what it shows on the login screen — the server must match exactly (e.g. OSP, FUNDEDNEXT) and it's not a URL. If you changed your TradeLocker password, remove the account and connect again — see Connect TradeLocker.
Sign-in works but my account isn't in the list. Wrong environment. Most prop-firm challenge accounts are Demo even though the challenge is real; funded accounts are usually Live. Switch and sign in again.
Account status "error" after it was working. Almost always a changed password or an expired prop-firm account. Remove and reconnect with the current login. Note that removing an account also removes its trades in SniperJournal (you're asked to confirm), and the reconnect brings back the last 12 months.
Trade count doesn't match TradeLocker's history. SniperJournal pairs your fills into positions: a position you scaled into or out of becomes one trade with volume-weighted entry and exit, and a position that is still partly open isn't counted until it's fully closed. So the count can be lower than TradeLocker's order list and still be right. If a specific trade looks wrong, tell Mark which one.
"Sync now" does nothing / seems slow. Sync can take up to a minute on accounts with a lot of history. Refresh the page. Connected accounts also sync by themselves: every minute on Pro, every 30 minutes on Regular. Sync now is a Pro button.
File import
I finished onboarding, my account is there, but Trades is empty. The account you named in onboarding is a bucket, not a connection — nothing arrives until you put trades in it. On Starter and Regular that means a file: export from your platform (Import files has the clicks), drop it on Accounts & import, choose that account under Account for this file, Import. On Pro you can connect MetaTrader or TradeLocker instead and the account fills itself.
"Couldn't read that file" / "No closed trades found." MT4: export with Save as Detailed Report (not Save as Report) after All History. MT5: export from the Positions view, Report → HTML. CSV: needs a header row with symbol, side, size, open/close time, profit. Full details in Import files.
It imported 0 new trades. They're already in the journal — the preview shows how many it recognised. Nothing to do.
Some trades were skipped. Starter stores 100 trades. Upgrade to Regular or Pro for unlimited.
My trades went into the wrong account. On the Import page the Account for this file box defaults to your first account. Type the right name before clicking Import. If a whole import went into a freshly created wrong account, open Accounts and Remove that account — that deletes its trades too — then import the file again with the right name. If the trades landed in an account that also has good trades, open each wrong trade and Delete it, then re-import.
AI coach
The coach screen shows a lock / "part of Regular and Pro". The coach isn't on Starter. See Billing.
"You've used today's N coach messages." Regular has 25 a day, Pro 300. Resets at midnight UTC.
"Single-trade AI reviews are a Pro feature." The per-trade AI review button is Pro only. The main coach chat still works on Regular — ask it about the trade by symbol and date.
The answers are generic. It only knows what's in the journal. Get more trades in, tag setups under Playbooks, log mistakes on trades and write the daily journal. The more context, the sharper it gets.
Billing
I paid but the app still shows Starter. Refresh the page or sign out and in — the plan switches the moment Stripe confirms, which is usually instant. If it's been more than five minutes, reply to your receipt email and Mark will fix it by hand.
I want to cancel / change card / get an invoice. Billing → Manage subscription, invoices & card. Details in Billing.
Billing says "Access until <date> · prepaid, no auto-renewal". Will I be charged? No. You prepaid a 3/6/12-month pack; it ends on that date and nothing renews by itself. You get one reminder email a week before. To continue, prepay another pack (or switch to monthly/yearly) on the Billing page before the date — see Billing.
My prepaid pack ended and the app dropped to Starter. That's expected: a pack doesn't renew. Nothing was deleted. Prepay again or subscribe on Billing and everything unlocks immediately.
I paid in USDC and the plan hasn't changed. Stablecoin payments can take a few minutes longer to confirm than a card. Give it ten minutes and refresh Billing. Still Starter? Reply to the Stripe receipt email with the date and amount and Mark will apply it by hand.
The app itself
It's showing trades that aren't mine. That's the sample data so every screen has something on it. Import your own trades or add one and it's replaced, or click Clear sample data in the banner.
Numbers look wrong (P&L, pips). Check the account's currency in Settings matches your broker account. Check the trade's size is in lots, not units. If one trade is off, open it and compare entry/exit/size with your platform — imported statements occasionally carry a swap or commission in a different column.
I want it on my phone. iPhone: open the site in Safari → Share → Add to Home Screen. Android/Chrome: browser menu → Install app. It then opens full-screen like a native app.
I'm stuck and nothing above helps. Reply to any SniperJournal email with (1) which platform, (2) which step, (3) the exact message you see — a screenshot of the Experts tab is perfect. Pro students can ask Mark for a 10-minute screen share to get the sync working.
Want Mark to go through your actual trading with you, not just the setup? Book a private session at https://journal.marksfxacademy.com/book — a 15-minute Quick Consult, a 30-minute Strategy Session or a 60-minute Deep Dive of your journal. The calendar shows times in your own time zone.