Best Thread Interactive Brokers

[trader1111]

Thank you Wheezer!

The color of the last section of the action line on TWS changes to a magenta color, and the letter "C" comes up, which normally means you can cancel the order. However, as has happened numerous times before, it just freezes at that point, and won't allow me to cancel (it says it is working on it, no matter if it takes many minutes), and won't let me put in another sell order, and it also won't fill the original sell order. So my only choice is to logout, and login again, praying to the market gods that the trade won't go against me too much in the interim, and that when I login again, that I may actually be allowed to exit the trade.

It happened today, and it has happened a number of times in that last week or so.

trader111,
can you remember when this happened, did the colour of the monitor change, ie the TWS platform ?

ps, I think the problem may lie with IB and not your machine !

 

[urep]

Perhaps I can get an answer to this where IB chat would not help. I am a relatively new client trading futures, and many times now I get into a trade using TWS (IB's Trader WorkStation trading platform), then click the "T" for transmit, and see the "C" for cancel, meaning that my order has been transmitted and I can still cancel if I like. The only problem is that I keep waiting and waiting and waiting for the fill which never comes, and then I have to actually logout and login again, hoping that I can finally close my position which by then has generally moved against me (after being profitable in the beginning like it was today, and losing all profit when I finally got out after logging in and out.).

I went to IB Chat and asked about it, and was treated like this was the strangest thing they have ever heard, and no one has ever complained about this before. Then I went to the internet, did a search on problems with TWS, and got a whole bunch of confirmation at EliteTrader and other sites.

Is their an honest IB tech person who will not insult me by condescending to me and telling me that what I am experiencing is not really happening, or no one else has any problems, etc, and tell me what can be done about this??? There is NO problem with my broadband connection nor my high end desktop. Thanks!

Trader:

What futures were you trading? Usually this should be instantaneous on globex if you're selling at the bid (or buying at the ask) and your computer is connected to IB's server.
I think if you're close to either the bid or ask but not on it then when you click " T " then the market (other orders before you: market makers backing away) or perhaps IB's software will move the price away from your order before it arrives (I've seen this often on globex). Your computer can be fine but a disconnection occurs between the company's server and your computer somewhere along the network. Call IB's tech services and have them look at an audit trail of the trade and explain to you exactly why you weren't filled.

Urep

 

[JonnyT]

I've experienced this twice in three years of using IB.

It was down to an unstable release of TWS.

That certainly isn't the case now.

Have a look at your audit trails and ascertain whether the orders got a response from IBs server.

What order types were us using?

 

[Interactive Brokers]

Dear Trader 111:

Again, we are trying to investigate your problem. We are unsure of the cause, but until you send an e-mail to [email protected] and copy [email protected] with all of your particulars and of the problem i.e, trade date, time and etc, we cannot begin our investigation.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Interactive Brokers]

Dear Trader 111:

Again, we are trying to investigate your problem. We are unsure of the cause, but until you send an e-mail to [email protected] and copy [email protected] with all of your particulars and of the problem i.e, trade date, time and etc, we cannot begin our investigation.

NOTE: We ask you to send us the above by e-mail because for market data protection you should not disclose your name, account id and other private particulars on an open web forum.

Thank you in advance as we still await your e-mail.

 

[starspacer]

Thank you Wheezer!

The color of the last section of the action line on TWS changes to a magenta color, and the letter "C" comes up, which normally means you can cancel the order. However, as has happened numerous times before, it just freezes at that point, and won't allow me to cancel (it says it is working on it, no matter if it takes many minutes), and won't let me put in another sell order, and it also won't fill the original sell order. So my only choice is to logout, and login again, praying to the market gods that the trade won't go against me too much in the interim, and that when I login again, that I may actually be allowed to exit the trade.

It happened today, and it has happened a number of times in that last week or so.

Trader1111, the fact that a number of other users of IB (myself included) have posted that they have experienced no similar problems with IB does, I'm afraid, indicate that it appears to be either your computer or connection (most likely the former if you are not experiencing problems accessing other data feeds, websites etc).

It might seem like the obvious, but have you run a spyware + virus check recently? Despite the fact that my computer is regularly sweeped for nasties, from time to time, these little critters still appear. The other day I had one which was self replicating a program in the background, which significantly affected the running of my data feeds. Also don't forget to regularly defrag your computer. Failing that, try uninstalling IB & then re-install. This almost always fixes the problem.

Good luck.

 

[wheezergeezer]

Trader1111,
Thanks for the confirmation, Ive had a similar experience a couple of times in the past 2 weeks,
my PC is 6months old and in good order, I know this because I'm a qualified PC engineer and I built the machine myself with quality components, also I've not had a similar experience with any other incoming feed, I'm going to find another broker, I'm not a fan of IB................Good Luck

 

[trader1111]

It was ER2 on Globex. They kept saying there IS no audit trail since they did not get any notice of the delayed trade -- even though I saw the indication on my side and even when I tried to sell again it said the trade was working. They saw nothing of this from their side. They say they only saw the final filled trade after I logged in and out and tried to close the position again, many minutes later.

Trader:

What futures were you trading? Usually this should be instantaneous on globex if you're selling at the bid (or buying at the ask) and your computer is connected to IB's server.
I think if you're close to either the bid or ask but not on it then when you click " T " then the market (other orders before you: market makers backing away) or perhaps IB's software will move the price away from your order before it arrives (I've seen this often on globex). Your computer can be fine but a disconnection occurs between the company's server and your computer somewhere along the network. Call IB's tech services and have them look at an audit trail of the trade and explain to you exactly why you weren't filled.

Urep

 

[trader1111]

By this logic (number of users having problems), then it is definitely an IB problem since, as I have have said, there are forums all over the place complaining about the same things with TWS, and much much more about IB in general. I was having NO problems whatsoever getting instant chart data updates using TradeStation, was having very fast download of websites, etc. It was not the computer, and it is clean of spyware, viruses, etc.

Trader1111, the fact that a number of other users of IB (myself included) have posted that they have experienced no similar problems with IB does, I'm afraid, indicate that it appears to be either your computer or connection (most likely the former if you are not experiencing problems accessing other data feeds, websites etc).

It might seem like the obvious, but have you run a spyware + virus check recently? Despite the fact that my computer is regularly sweeped for nasties, from time to time, these little critters still appear. The other day I had one which was self replicating a program in the background, which significantly affected the running of my data feeds. Also don't forget to regularly defrag your computer. Failing that, try uninstalling IB & then re-install. This almost always fixes the problem.

Good luck.

 

[Interactive Brokers]

Again, we are trying to investigate your problem. We are unsure of the cause, but until you send an e-mail to [email protected] and copy [email protected] with all of your particulars and of the problem i.e, trade date, time and etc, we cannot begin our investigation.

NOTE: We ask you to send us the above by e-mail because for market data protection you should not disclose your name, account id and other private particulars on an open web forum.

Thank you in advance as we still await your e-mail.

 

[trader1111]

Baloney. This is a copout, again. To make me disappear. What makes you different from three of your IB chat people who said, in varying degrees of condescension, that there is NOTHING to investigate since there is no audit trail since TWS did not work and they did not see the trade? Even though I did see the "C" so it DID transmit but froze, etc, etc, etc. And this happens with many users again and again.

Read the Elite Trader complaints people. Do a google search on problems with IB TWS to learn the real truth about the mess that is called the TWS platform (what to speak of their consistently horrible and infamous tech and customer support). It's all out there and I didn't write it!

Dear Trader 111:

Again, we are trying to investigate your problem. We are unsure of the cause, but until you send an e-mail to [email protected] and copy [email protected] with all of your particulars and of the problem i.e, trade date, time and etc, we cannot begin our investigation.

Thank you in advance.

 

[def]

trader111,
you state your order went magenta. When an order reaches an exchange and is confirmed, it turns green. If you have seen a green, you should be able to cancel immediately. If not, then it points to a connection problem. I'd suggest a few things.
1. under the configuration choices, turn on audit trail (this will write an audit trail to your local disk which you can look at and possibly send to the help desk to assist them in figuring out when went wrong).

2. What kind of Internet connection do you have? You can do a ping test and a tracert to make sure the connection is solid and you aren't losing data packets.

3. A "C" appearing doesn't mean much. You can actually add the "C" column to show all the time via the config window. The colors are more telling.

let me know if you are seeing the "green" color after transmitting an order. This would be a good place to start.

I'll also add that the overall reviews of IB's TWS on elite trader are very favorable. We just happen to have a large client base who follow that forum and thus get more press - good and bad - than other firms. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this and figure it out.

 

[Interactive Brokers]

Dear Trader 111:

Respectfully :

1. Your adamant to state in this forum that your trading problems are soley our software. Yet you do not want to simply identify yourself to us by e-mail nor provide us the particulars of your problem which makes us suspect whether in fact you want us to investigate the problem?

2. Since your posts from last night not once have we suggested its your hardware or etc., rather it has been other participants in this forum.

3. Unless you assist us in trying to assist you there is nothing we can do to assist you which I believe was your intention in posting your query to us in this thread that we monitor.

4. Again, we are trying to investigate your problem. We are unsure of the cause, but until you send an e-mail to [email protected] and copy [email protected] with all of your particulars and of the problem i.e, trade date, time and etc, we cannot begin our investigation.

Thank you in advance.

 

[nine]

Read the Elite Trader complaints people. Do a google search on problems with IB TWS to learn the real truth about the mess that is called the TWS platform (what to speak of their consistently horrible and infamous tech and customer support). It's all out there and I didn't write it!

Not wishing to advocate reading elite trader here but if you did do that then you will not find lots of complaints ... although you do find a number of threads that start as complaints. Often the complainent has their lack of experience etc pointed out by non-ib readers and frequently ib helps those with issues to sort them out.

I suggest that rather than publishing the bull that the above paragraph is a sample of ... if you really want to sort things out ... you follow def's advice.

One thing most traders learn is to take personal responsibility for everything that happens to them. In this case why not take personal responsibility for generating an audit trail so that ib can understand what you are experiencing at your pc?

 

[urep]

It was ER2 on Globex. They kept saying there IS no audit trail since they did not get any notice of the delayed trade -- even though I saw the indication on my side and even when I tried to sell again it said the trade was working. They saw nothing of this from their side. They say they only saw the final filled trade after I logged in and out and tried to close the position again, many minutes later.

I had this happen to me once and was suspicious. In my case it didn't transmit so it never hit their server, but I noted the time. I had to just reenter a new trade and yes it moved against me slightly. Tech services told me that there was a disconnection in the network at the very second I entered the order. I had seen it before trying to initiate a position were it wasn't as bothersome. The ER 's are not that liquid so you may not have seen a match, but since it transmitted and then you got a "C" to let you cancel ,they should have an audit trail, and your trade should have went off if the match was there. Once it goes from "T" to "C" it had to have bounced off their server.

Do you have a link to the similar elitetrader forums because I'd be interested in learning more.

urep

 

[SOCRATES]

Well, I am using a new PC, way way beyond what the recommended sys reqs are for TWS. And the fact that I see the "C" means that the order has been transmitted, and that if their platform worked correctly, they should see that. No question about it. If the problem was my PC, then nothing would happen when I pressed the transmit "T", I certainly would not be seeing clear evidence that the order is "working". The problem is not my PC. It is TWS.

Are you seriously saying that everyone who complains about this, who complains about the often unstable TWS platform, the freezing interface, etc, etc...it is all due to their PC's and it is all their fault? C'mon Socrates! Have you researched the reviews on this? You sound so sure of yourself, not even acknowledging the many complaints besides mine, that one wonders if you might actually work for IB... I am just writing here what so many have written elsewhere. But this is from personal experience.

Anyway I am going to try next their more lightweight Webtrader platform (which has much less "functionality", but that may help it work), and hope that will at least not freeze on me. If I have consistent problems with that as well.... I will probably have to move to TradeStation.

Would still love to get a clear answer to this from IB...

Best wishes...

To be truthful, I have not researched any reviews, i am only telling you about my experiece.

The only problems I have had in the past have been loss of connection owing to local work (?) being done on the broadband. Otherwise no probs. And this is over a span of 7 years +, and from different locations, and even non uk mainland.

But I know someone who had the problem you have and he changed his pc and solved the problem immediately. For the record, I have no interest or connection with IB whatsoever.

 

[JEDI]

TRADER1111

I have been using IB for over 6 months & have experienced no such problems although I would suggest if there is a problem getting a fill you dont mess around logging out and then in but get on the phone and close the trade out immediately. It can take around 10 minutes to log back in and God knows what could have happened to your positions in the meantime.

 

[nine]

I had this happen to me once and was suspicious. In my case it didn't transmit so it never hit their server, but I noted the time. I had to just reenter a new trade and yes it moved against me slightly. Tech services told me that there was a disconnection in the network at the very second I entered the order. I had seen it before trying to initiate a position were it wasn't as bothersome. The ER 's are not that liquid so you may not have seen a match, but since it transmitted and then you got a "C" to let you cancel ,they should have an audit trail, and your trade should have went off if the match was there. Once it goes from "T" to "C" it had to have bounced off their server.

Do you have a link to the similar elitetrader forums because I'd be interested in learning more.

urep

Theres been nothing at elitetrader on this area recently urep --- last year there were connection issues particularly in south east asia and briefly also problems with the big server upgrade but nothing recently. I think one of the tws upgrades might have helped with the asian issues.

Most elitetrader issues are one or two option traders complaining about the manner in which ib closes their positions if they are over margin for a short period. The complaint seems to be "its too damned quick and you should be more tolerant of a small dip that will soon be resolved" and the countercharge from other boardmembers seems to be "grow up and realise that what is written in the contract is just what is happening." The ib contributions clarified the way that their system worked to make it more predictable and also pointed out that they get lower insurance rates because their systems are clean and tight which they then pass on (at least I think that was what the benefit was).

There was a guy here who got banned eventually who was forever going on about the same issue.

 

[oatman]

Do us all a favour and send them an email. We'd all like to know what's going on.

 

[rossored]

Trader1111:

Interactive Brokers have now offered several times to address this issue for you, yet so far it seems that you don't want to be helped.

You may either write to the individuals in IB's post to have your problem addressed, or post it here on the boards - but please don't constantly complain about something and then not supply the information required to help solve the issue - where is the point in that?

If you have a genuine issue with TWS or IB, I am sure that IB will be glad to help, but please, no more aggressive, unfounded posts.

Thanks.