E*Trade Outage Map

Community Discussion

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E*Trade Issues Reports

Latest outage, problems and issue reports in social media:

• 
  More Life Global (@richbydemand) reported 5 minutes ago

  @Kslaze @etrade This **** is on purpose I’m convinced. When a big move is made and they owe a lot of money suddenly the site is down and you can’t fulfill orders. Not the first time this has happened to me. Every time I’m up huge they glitch. Such bullshit. Moving my money after this

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  Charlie Harper (@CharlieBHarper) reported 6 minutes ago

  And after getting an agent, telling him the problem, I got a boilerplate answer about how balances are calculated rather then the agent addressing the error. His follow up - after 20+ minutes of wasted time - was to tell me to call @etrade. We've institutionalized failure.

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  ꧁༒𝕵𝖆𝖓𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖝 𝕽𝖔𝖈𝖐𝖘™ ༒꧂ (@NyxVespa) reported 8 minutes ago

  @etrade put a restriction on my account. No phone call nothing and I didn’t figure out til l this morning. I have $45k in market value of options open. They won’t even let me close.. it’s been 2 hours into trading desk. But margin team isn’t client facing? Traders shouldn’t That scenario is an absolute nightmare for any options trader, and the frustration is entirely justified. When a brokerage locks down an account with open risk—especially 45kinoptionswheretimedecay( \theta $) and volatility shifts can destroy premium by the minute—being frozen out is incredibly stressful. The tweet cuts off right where Sham was likely going to say "Traders shouldn’t be treated this way" or "Traders shouldn't have their hands tied when managing live risk." Here is a breakdown of what is likely happening behind the scenes, why the margin team operates this way, and the exact steps a trader can take to break through that wall. Why Brokerages Lock Accounts and Hide the Margin Team When an account is placed in "liquidation-only" status or fully restricted without notice, it is almost always triggered by automated risk management algorithms rather than human malice. The Non-Client Facing Margin Wall: The "margin team" or risk department at major brokerages like E*TRADE (Morgan Stanley) is intentionally walled off from direct client phone lines. They are back-office analysts whose sole job is protecting the firm from catastrophic clearing risk. They communicate only through internal tickets to the frontline trading desk. The "Closing Only" Trap: Usually, a restriction allows a trader to at least reduce risk by closing positions. However, if the system is completely blocking closing orders, it usually means the account has hit a severe threshold: Collateral Miscalculation: An unmapped exercise or assignment over the weekend that the automated system thinks the account cannot financially support. Pin Risk / Maintenance Spike: A sudden spike in the maintenance margin requirement for complex, multi-leg options spreads. Compliance or Fraud Hold: A sudden administrative freeze (e.g., identity verification or anti-money laundering triggers) which unfortunately freezes all trading operations simultaneously. Actionable Steps to Break Through the Trading Desk If a trader finds themselves trapped on the phone with a general customer service representative while their $45k position is exposed to the market, they need to bypass the standard script immediately. Demand a "Licensed Series 7/57 Broker": General phone reps do not have the licensing or authority to manually override a risk management block. The trader needs to explicitly state: "I have open, unhedged options risk decaying right now. Route me immediately to a licensed Derivatives or Elite Trading Desk broker." Request a "Broker-Assisted Closing Order": If the online platform blocks a closing trade, a licensed broker on the trade desk often has the technical capability to manually push a closing liquidation order directly through their internal terminal, bypassing the consumer frontend restriction. Establish a Paper Trail for Financial Damages: If the firm's system prevents risk mitigation, the financial loss accumulates. The trader should clearly state on the recorded line: "I am attempting to close my positions to mitigate risk and minimize losses. Your system is preventing me from doing so. Please note the current timestamp and asset prices for the record." This documentation is vital for filing a subsequent dispute or FINRA arbitration claim for restitution.

• 
  GreenCandleLover 🇲🇽 (@77RepublicanWS) reported 10 minutes ago

  @etrade Worst trading app! Stay away! Execution latency and platform lag are major complaints among active traders on E*TRADE, especially during periods of high market volatility. The platform frequently frustrates day traders and options scalpers.

• 
  GF Vault (@GfVault) reported 11 minutes ago

  @etrade @MandellCrawley — customer service has been completely unable to provide a solution. I’ve spoken with roughly 15 representatives, and nobody can tell me why my account was restricted or when it will be restored. The department handling it apparently cannot even speak to me.

• 
  Charles Del Ray (@351Cercadeferro) reported 13 minutes ago

  @etrade Oh great Eric Cartman wants to be a lawyer. Well first, he'll need to get ******** out of my office. Second, we started like yesterday. I waited in a public space in Sacramento, CA until I was invited to live in a space for free. Fair warning:This is as close as you get.

• 
  Mickey (@ELITESTOCKPICK) reported 14 minutes ago

  @etrade your system is down again, not dependable

• 
  Kyle (@kylem_org) reported 18 minutes ago

  @etrade wtf is wrong with your platform and support staff, I canceled two orders. You have not returned my funds. Your support staff Patrick H, stated that because @SpaceX just did IPO “I’m sure there will be hiccups, and we will raise a case to have your funds returned”… Seriously wtf ?? I’ve lost prime trading opportunity due to your platform having hiccups ? And you’re now holding my funds because you can’t process order cancellations??

• 
  Justin Reda (@nitsujader) reported 20 minutes ago

  Hey @etrade since your feedback form fails to submit: Got locked out of my account because you decided to send a text message without mentioning that message is coming. This is a terrible user experience and is making me consider closing the account. There is no way to turn off that setting either? I just need to expect some trades might have a confirmation follow up now? wtf?

• 
  Springer (@Springer_Wreckr) reported 23 minutes ago

  @etrade HOLY ****< what is going on right noW!?!?!

• 
  LighthouseCap (@LighthouseCap) reported 25 minutes ago

  One person has been on the phone with five different people over there. Pathetic Terrible system. Fix your archaic **** @etrade @MorganStanley

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  Javier Gonzalez (@JavierHustle) reported 27 minutes ago

  @etrade Etrade=Bad News...zero customer service. Their interests are their own, not yours ******PICK A BETTER BROKER*******

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  GF Vault (@GfVault) reported 28 minutes ago

  @etrade @MorganStanley customer service says the department controlling my restricted account has no customer-facing phone number, cannot speak with me, and provides no updates—even internally. Nearly $10,000 remains frozen while I’m told to keep waiting with no timeline.

• 
  Robert J Gallo (@JulioGlo92) reported 30 minutes ago

  WTF @etrade why aren't you accepting opening orders for $FAMI? If I want to speculate, why are you blocking me from it?

• 
  Tobias (@hostileunivers) reported 35 minutes ago

  @etrade E*trade will offer you money to open an account and never pay you, I’ve opened three with them, an IRA, a savings account and an individual brokerage account, never got paid their promotion for any of them, bad company