Your broker rejected the order size. You find the error in Trading Hub → Execution Log: open the signal's row and read the line under the account — on MT5 it contains retcode=10014 desc=Invalid volume. Whether a size is refused depends on the platform. On MT5 the terminal adjusts a size that is off the step, below the minimum or above the maximum instead of refusing it, so an Invalid volume on MT5 points to a rule your broker applies on top of those three. On cTrader and Binance/Bybit a size below the minimum is refused; the three cases below show what happens on each.
How PipSync arrives at a size
- The channel's Position Sizing (Channels → your channel → Settings → Auto-trade) calculates a size: Risk-Based, Fixed Percentage or Fixed Lots.
- The result is clamped between Min Lots and Max Lots on that channel and rounded to two decimals.
- The account's platform then applies the instrument's own rules. On MT5 the terminal rounds down to the broker's volume step, raises a size below the broker's minimum up to that minimum, and caps a size above the broker's maximum. On cTrader the size is rounded down to the step and a size below the broker's minimum is refused. On Binance and Bybit it is rounded down to the step and refused below the minimum quantity or minimum order value.
1. Below the minimum
A small account balance plus a wide stop produces a size under the broker's minimum lot (often 0.01).
- On MT5 the order is not refused — it goes out at the broker's minimum, which can risk more than your Risk per trade (%). With Risk-Based sizing, when PipSync could read the instrument's specification it tells you: you get the notification Trade placed at the minimum lot — risk above your setting. If it says the minimum is the one set for the channel, a lower Min Lots in the channel's Position Sizing brings the size closer to your setting. Compare the volume under Open Positions on the account page with what you intended.
- On cTrader and on Binance/Bybit the order is refused.
To change it:
- Accept that the smallest size the broker allows risks more than your Risk per trade (%). Raising the percentage only to get past the error means you take that larger risk on every trade, so do it only if you are comfortable with it, or
- Use a micro/cent account where the minimum is smaller.
2. Off the step size
Brokers accept sizes in increments — 0.01, or sometimes 0.1 or 1 for indices and some CFDs. PipSync rounds down to the step, so a size that is merely off the step is corrected, not refused. If you still get "Invalid volume", compare the size with the symbol's volume step, minimum and maximum (MT5: Market Watch, right-click the symbol, Specification). With Fixed Lots, use a size that fits all three. If the numbers fit and the order is still refused, your broker applies a stricter rule to that account or symbol — message us in the support chat with the symbol, your broker and the exact error text.
3. Above the maximum
Either your Max Lots cap or the broker's per-order ceiling. Max Lots is applied first; on MT5 the terminal then caps the size at the broker's maximum. A large account balance with a very tight stop hits this quickly. If the error reads Volume limit reached instead, the broker's total volume limit for that symbol is already used up by open positions — close some or lower Max Lots.