SI Connect - Setup & Troubleshooting

SI Connect is a background EA that downloads external market data from Stein Investments servers. It is required by data-dependent products like FX Volume and FX Levels. It is not a trading tool - it is the data pipeline that keeps your other SI tools fed.

Which Products Need SI Connect?

Required by:

• FX Volume
• FX Levels
• Any product that accesses FX Volume or FX Levels data

NOT required by:

• FX Power NG - calculates from broker OHLC data
• IX Power - calculates from broker OHLC data
• FX Trend - pure indicator calculation
• Smart Stop Indicator, Smart Stop Scanner, Smart Stop Manager - no server dependency
• Power Candles - uses FX Power/IX Power internally
• EasyTrade - fully offline
• Custom Alerts - uses other indicators, not server data directly
• Crosshair - visual utility only

Setup (3 Steps)

Step 1: Allow the URL

This is the most commonly missed step.

1. In MetaTrader, go to Tools > Options > Expert Advisors
2. Check "Allow WebRequest for listed URL"
3. Add the Stein Investments server URL to the list
4. Click OK

Without this, SI Connect cannot download any data and will show "Connection lost".

Step 2: Place on a Chart

1. Drag SI Connect onto exactly one chart in your terminal
2. The symbol and timeframe of that chart do not matter - use any chart you like (a small, minimized EURUSD M1 window works well)
3. In the EA properties, make sure "Allow live trading" is checked (required for web requests)

Step 3: Verify Connection

Look at the chart comment (top-left corner of the chart). You should see:

• "Awaiting product/data request..." - SI Connect is running and ready, but no data-dependent indicator is loaded yet. This is normal.
• "Connection to Stein Investments Server established" - data is flowing. At least one SI product is receiving data.
• Broker server time, UTC offset, and market status - confirms the connection is active

The One-Instance Rule

SI Connect must run on exactly one chart per terminal. If you try to start a second instance, a popup will tell you which chart already has it running.

If you run multiple MetaTrader terminals (e.g., different broker accounts), each terminal needs its own SI Connect instance.

Status Display

Starting Order Matters

Start SI Connect before FX Volume. If you load FX Volume first and SI Connect second, FX Volume may show "Awaiting data" because it did not detect SI Connect at startup.

Fix: Remove FX Volume from the chart and re-add it, or simply reload the chart.

Common Issues

"Connection lost"

• Most common cause: The URL is not allowed in MT5 Options > Expert Advisors
• Check your internet connection
• Firewall may be blocking MetaTrader's web requests
• Server-side outage (rare) - wait a few minutes, SI Connect retries every 60 seconds

"This EA can only run once!" popup

• SI Connect is already running on another chart in this terminal
• No action needed - the existing instance serves all products

FX Volume shows no data

1. Confirm SI Connect is running (check chart comment)
2. Confirm it shows "Connection established"
3. If SI Connect shows "Awaiting product/data request", remove FX Volume and re-add it

Weekend pause

SI Connect pauses data updates during the weekend. This is normal, not an error. Updates resume automatically on Sunday evening.

Tips

• Dedicate a small chart window to SI Connect. Minimize it so it does not take up screen space, but you can quickly check the status when needed.
• Do not place SI Connect on the same chart as FX Volume. Use a separate, idle chart for minimal performance impact.
• After switching broker accounts, SI Connect automatically detects the new GMT offset. No restart needed.
• On a VPS, SI Connect logs its status once per minute to the Experts tab since chart comments are not visible.