E*Trade Outage Map

Community Discussion

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E*Trade Issues Reports

Latest outage, problems and issue reports in social media:

• 
  Joe Laubenthal (@laubenthal_joe) reported 9 minutes ago

  @adastral_trader @etrade I had some issues earlier, I can get on now

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  ꧁༒𝕵𝖆𝖓𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖝 𝕽𝖔𝖈𝖐𝖘™ ༒꧂ (@NyxVespa) reported 10 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.

• 
  10 or 0 (@10_or_0) reported 13 minutes ago

  @etrade I EXPECT TO BE COMPENSATED FOR LOSSES RELATED TO YOUR OUTAGE.

• 
  Tyler ''pronouns idiot'' Foster 🤖 (@tylergilfoster) reported 13 minutes ago

  @etrade shut ******** up

• 
  Brian (@Brian7722763252) reported 13 minutes ago

  @etrade I cant login. Im lossing money. How will u compensate for this?

• 
  Justin Reda (@nitsujader) reported 13 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?

• 
  Steve-Sapphire01 (@Sapphire01Steve) reported 14 minutes ago

  @GailHedglin @jason_hemphill @etrade Mobile is down too.

• 
  Bball Brainiac (@BrainiacBball) reported 20 minutes ago

  @etrade why doesn’t the download feature in the portfolio view work at all? I’ve tried two different OS (windows and OSX), different browsers and so on. Keep getting “invalid rewuest” errors showing up in the csv file. This has been ongoing for months

• 
  Ben Lam....... (@BenBSP) reported 33 minutes ago

  Wow, @etrade is down, markets dumping, I have all my limit sells in for $SMH $385p $387.50p and next week $362.50p, so let it dump to $382!!!

• 
  Lionel Li (@lionelistic) reported 35 minutes ago

  @etrade Service is down? Phone line down?

• 
  Creemer (@Creemer14) reported 35 minutes ago

  @etrade the system is down and not even reading my social security on the phone.... I waited on the phone for awhile....Please address....Thanks....

• 
  Andrew (@Andrew99Blue) reported 36 minutes ago

  @Maximus_Holla Marekts sitting on critical support. E-trade mysteriously goes down. I'm guessing we'll get access on Monday and accounts will be empty. This is going to be criminal. Come on @etrade. Stop being China.

• 
  Jay (@JAMS9393) reported 36 minutes ago

  **** @etrade this app is a piece of ****, system down on a trading day is unacceptable.

• 
  JRD (@Lehman_08) reported 37 minutes ago

  Hey @etrade wtf

• 
  LunchMeat3270 (@LunchMeat3270) reported 39 minutes ago

  PSA: I hope no one here uses @etrade Awful. Most fees. Use anyone but!