Category: Troubleshooting & Common Errors | Last Updated: April 2026

If your strategy didn't take any trades today, the first thing to know is this: it's often normal. Vector strategies are selective by design, and many valid trading days simply don't produce an entry signal. Here's how to tell whether today's no-fire was expected — or whether something needs investigating.

If you're troubleshooting a strategy that hasn't fired in a long time (not just today), see the separate article on strategy diagnostics, which covers the broader checklist.

1. Entry Conditions Simply Weren't Met

This is the most common reason — and it doesn't mean anything is wrong. Each Vector strategy has specific entry conditions based on price action, time windows, and market behavior. When those conditions don't align on a given day, the strategy correctly sits out. Expect this to happen on some portion of trading days; it's a feature, not a bug.

2. A Broker-Level Max Daily Loss Was Triggered

Both prop and cash clients can configure a maximum daily loss on their broker dashboard. This is an optional safety setting clients can choose to enable — it's useful as an extra layer of protection against edge cases like a naked trade running further than expected and damaging the account.

Here's how it actually behaves (which is often misunderstood):

• It is not a filter on the strategy — it doesn't skip trades at entry
• When the open positions on the account hit the configured max daily loss amount, the broker force-closes all positions on that account — regardless of where the strategy's original stop-loss was set
• Once that happens, the account is effectively done for the session. Any further signals the strategy generates won't fire on that account until the next trading day

So if the strategy fired earlier in the session but stopped firing afterwards, check whether your broker-side max daily loss was hit. You'll typically see evidence of this in the Executions tab (positions closed outside of the strategy's own logic) and on your broker dashboard.

If you want to enable this safety setting or adjust an existing one, it's configured directly on your broker dashboard — not inside NinjaTrader or the strategy itself.

3. You're on an Expired Contract (Rollover Needed)

Futures contracts expire on a regular quarterly schedule. If your chart is still showing an expired contract (for example, NQ MAR26 when the active front-month is NQ JUN26), the chart will freeze and the strategy will have no live data to act on.

How to Roll Over in NinjaTrader

The cleanest way is through Database Management:

1. In the Control Center, go to Tools → Database Management
2. Let NinjaTrader update the contracts — all instruments are refreshed in one step, no extra configuration needed

Popup on restart: During rollover week, NinjaTrader also typically shows a popup prompting you to update contracts when the platform is restarted. For clients who don't restart NT every day, Database Management is the most effective path.

When Rollovers Happen

Rollovers generally occur during the third week of the expiration month — typically on Tuesday or Wednesday, once the new front-month contract starts showing higher volume than the expiring contract. That's when Vector announces the switch to all users through our official channels.

After rolling over, re-attach the strategy to the chart with the new active contract and save your workspace.

4. The Basics Still Apply

Before concluding the strategy missed a valid trade, quickly verify:

• Your broker connection was green during the trading window
• The strategy was enabled in the Control Center → Strategies tab
• Your chart is on the correct instrument and timeframe per the Settings Spreadsheet
• No "External order" or other broker-side closure is showing in the Log/Executions tabs

If any of these wasn't true during the day, that's your answer. If they were all fine and you still believe a valid signal was missed, open a support ticket with the strategy name, instrument, timeframe, and approximate date/time of the expected trade.

Bottom Line

A quiet day is normal — Vector strategies are selective, and not every session produces an entry. Before assuming something went wrong, confirm you're on the active contract month, check the Executions tab for any broker-side force-close, and verify the basics (connection green, strategy enabled, correct account). If everything checks out and a clear signal appears to have been missed, open a support ticket and our team will review it from our side.