When trading in Japanese or English with Exness, you may encounter garbled text on Windows or Mac in MT4 or MT5. I’ll explain how to fix this. I often experience garbled text when changing language settings. Is there a solution to this? And when does this happen?
- Exness Basic Information
- What Causes Garbled Text in Exness MT4?
- ① The Windows “System Locale” is set to a language other than Japanese (most common).
- ② “Beta: Use UTF-8” is ON
- ③ Using “Generic MT4” instead of the Exness-provided MT4
- ④ Character code issue with the EA/indicator
- ⑤ The MT4 display language setting remains in English.
- ⑥ The Windows username contains full-width Japanese characters (rare).
- Restarting MT4 and its Effects
- What to do if garbled characters persist
- Completely recheck your Windows settings (a common oversight).
- Unify the Windows “Display Language” and “Region” settings.
- Completely delete MT4 and perform a clean reinstall.
- If your Windows username is in Japanese (blind spot)
- Fixing garbled characters specific to EAs and indicators
- Reload the MT4 language file
- Migrating to MT5 (a last resort)
- Preventing Garbled Text in Exness MT4
- ✅ Fix the system locale to Japanese
- ✅ Turn off UTF-8 (Beta)
- ✅ Only use the official Exness MT4
- ✅ Leave the installation location as the default
- ✅ Set the language after launching MT4 for the first time
- ✅ Use only alphanumeric characters for your Windows username
- ✅ Unify the display language and region to Japan
- ✅ Always restart MT4 after changing settings
- ✅ Restart MT4 regularly
- ✅ Check after a major Windows update
- Related
Exness Basic Information
| Company Name | Exness Group (based in Cyprus and other countries) |
| Year of establishment | 2008 |
| Eligible products | CFDs (contracts for difference) for FX (foreign exchange), precious metals, energy, stock indexes, stocks, cryptocurrencies, etc. |
| Supported tools | MetaTrader 4 / MetaTrader 5 (MT4/MT5), Web Terminal, Exness App, etc. |
| Regulations and Licenses | FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) FSA (Seychelles Financial Services Authority) FSCA (South Africa) / CBCS (Curaçao) |
| Fund management/protection | Customer funds are managed separately from the operating company’s funds |
| Leverage | 2000 times |
| Account Type | Standard Standard Cent Pro Raw Spread Zero |
| Spread | 0.2〜0.4 pips |
| Deposits and Withdrawals | Credit cards, domestic/international remittances, various electronic wallets, cryptocurrencies |
What Causes Garbled Text in Exness MT4?
There are generally certain patterns behind the causes of garbled text when using MT4 with Exness.
Here, we’ll explain why this happens and how to fix it, organized by cause.
① The Windows “System Locale” is set to a language other than Japanese (most common).
Cause
MT4 is an old-fashioned software (non-Unicode compatible).
As a result, if Windows’
👉 “Language for non-Unicode programs”
is set to a language other than Japanese, Japanese characters will be garbled.
Where Garbled Characters Occur
Market Watch Window
Account History
Japanese EAs/Indicators
Error Messages
How to Check and Fix (Windows 10/11)
Control Panel
Clock and Region
Region
Administrative Tab
Change System Locale
Select Japanese (Japan)
Restart PC
✅ This alone will resolve over 90% of issues.
② “Beta: Use UTF-8” is ON
Cause
If “Beta: Use Unicode UTF-8 with Worldwide Language Support” in Windows Settings is ON, Japanese text will be corrupted in MT4.
Solution
Region → Admin
Change System Locale
☑ Uncheck “Beta: Use UTF-8”
Restart
👉 Turning this off is recommended for FX/MT4 users
③ Using “Generic MT4” instead of the Exness-provided MT4
Cause
Connecting your Exness account to a third-party or generic MT4 instead of the official Exness MT4
Japanese resources are not loading correctly
Solution
Reinstall MT4 from the Exness official website
Uninstall the old MT4
👉 Be especially careful if you have multiple MT4s installed
④ Character code issue with the EA/indicator
Cause
EA requires Shift-JIS
MT4 handles UTF-8
Incomplete Japanese support for foreign-made EAs
Common Symptoms
Parameter descriptions are garbled
Comment field displays “?????”
Solution
Use a Japanese-compatible EA
Contact the developer
Switch the display language to English (temporary solution)
⑤ The MT4 display language setting remains in English.
Cause
The internal MT4 language setting is set to English.
Solution
MT4 top menu
View → Languages → Japanese
Restart MT4
*If this does not resolve the issue, issues ① and ② are the cause.
⑥ The Windows username contains full-width Japanese characters (rare).
Cause
Username is “Yamada Taro,” for example.
MT4 password recognition error.
Solution
Create a new Windows user with alphanumeric characters.
Use MT4 with that user.
*This is a rare case, but may occur with EA users.
Restarting MT4 and its Effects
Restarting MT4 (MetaTrader 4) may seem trivial, but it is actually an important operation that can instantly resolve many issues.
Here, we will explain in practical terms what a restart is, what its effects are, and the correct way to restart.
What is an MT4 restart?
Restarting MT4 means
completely shutting down MT4 and then restarting it.
*
Close chart ❌
Minimize ❌
Put PC to sleep ❌
These are not “restarts.”
Main Benefits of Restarting MT4
① Eliminates Garbled Characters
After Changing Language Settings
After Changing Windows Locale
👉 Changes will not be reflected until restarted
② Fixes Display Issues
Charts Not Updating
Candlesticks Stuck
Indicators Not Displaying
👉 Resets Internal Cache
③ Fixes EA (Automated Trading) Issues
EA Not Working
Errors Occur
Parameter Changes Not Reflected
👉 Restarting
EA Reloads and Initializes
④ Resolves Communication Errors and Poor Connections
Connection Disconnection Message
Execution Delays
Server Connection Unstable
👉 Automatic Reconnection
⑤ MT4 Slow/Freezing Issues
Running for Long Periods
Displaying Multiple Charts
👉 Frees Up Memory for Improved Performance
What to do if garbled characters persist
MT4 (especially Exness MT4)
If you’re still experiencing garbled characters after trying all of the above,
the problem likely lies deep within Windows, your MT4 environment, or the EA itself.
The following are practical solutions for final checks. Please follow them in order from top to bottom.
Completely recheck your Windows settings (a common oversight).
Required check items (recheck)
System locale
Is it set to Japanese (Japan)?
UTF-8 (Beta)
Must be OFF
Has the computer been restarted?
Has the computer been restarted after setting the settings?
👉 If even one item is missing, the setting will be invalid.
Unify the Windows “Display Language” and “Region” settings.
Procedure
Settings → Time & Language → Language & Region
Display Language: Japanese
Country or Region: Japan
Regional Settings → Administration → Check System Locale
👉 A mismatch between the display language and locale can cause garbled characters.
Completely delete MT4 and perform a clean reinstall.
Why is this necessary?
If the configuration file or cache is corrupted,
reinstalling it will not fix the problem.
Complete Removal Procedure
Uninstall MT4
Manually delete the following folders
Restart your PC
Reinstall the official Exness MT4
If your Windows username is in Japanese (blind spot)
Problem
Path is in Japanese
MT4/EA cannot be read correctly
Solution (guaranteed)
Create a new Windows user with alphanumeric characters only
Log in with that user
Reinstall MT4
👉 Particularly effective for EA users
Fixing garbled characters specific to EAs and indicators
Cause
EA requires Shift-JIS
Foreign EAs do not support Japanese
Solution
Change EA settings to English
Obtain a Japanese version
Contact the developer
※ If MT4 itself is working properly, the problem is with the EA
Reload the MT4 language file
Procedure
MT4
View → Languages → English
Restart MT4
Restart
View → Languages → Japanese
Restart
👉 Effective when the language file is corrupted
Migrating to MT5 (a last resort)
Reason
MT5 supports Unicode
Minimally affected by Windows locale
👉 MT4-specific character encoding issues
Almost never occur with MT5
Preventing Garbled Text in Exness MT4
The following is a practical guide to prevent garbled text in Exness MT4, divided into three stages: pre-implementation, operation, and environment management.
✅ Fix the system locale to Japanese
Control Panel
Clock and Region → Region
Administration tab
Change system locale
Japanese (Japan)
Restart
👉 Required because MT4 is a non-Unicode app
✅ Turn off UTF-8 (Beta)
On the same screen
☑ “Beta: Use Unicode UTF-8”
→ Be sure to turn it off
⚠️ Forgetting this setting will guarantee garbled characters
✅ Only use the official Exness MT4
Avoid other companies’ MT4s and generic MT4s
Delete old MT4s before installing
✅ Leave the installation location as the default
❌ Japanese folder
❌ Directly under the desktop
⭕ Default path recommended
✅ Set the language after launching MT4 for the first time
View → Languages → Japanese
Restart
✅ Use only alphanumeric characters for your Windows username
Example: Trader01
Avoid using Japanese users
👉 Also effective in preventing EA and path errors
✅ Unify the display language and region to Japan
Display language: Japanese
Country or region: Japan
👉 Language mismatch = problematic
✅ Always restart MT4 after changing settings
Change language
Add EA
Update indicators
✅ Restart MT4 regularly
Daily or every few days
Do not leave it running for long periods of time
✅ Check after a major Windows update
The locale may revert
UTF-8 may be enabled
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