E*Trade Outage Map

Community Discussion

Tips? Frustrations? Share them here. Useful comments include a description of the problem, city and postal code.

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E*Trade Issues Reports

Latest outage, problems and issue reports in social media:

• 
  Jay Fletcher (@jayrfletcher) reported 14 seconds ago

  @etrade @MorganStanley Need someone from Executive Customer Support to contact me ASAP. My son had 3 legitimate, authorized transactions unexpectedly reversed from his account—including a $5,650 payment, a $3,800 PayPal payment, and another Robinhood payment.

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  Charlie Harper (@CharlieBHarper) reported 6 minutes ago

  @etrade This call came at almost 9pm, I wasn't at my computer, and had largely forgotten about this incident. Then I get this stupid form letter that says nothing but had to come in a secure portal. It only serves to remind my how poorly this entire situation from beginning to now was handled by @etrade.

• 
  Russell Wallace Warren (@RussellWWarren) reported 6 minutes ago

  @etrade Whyyhe **** are you spying on me??????

• 
  ꧁༒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.

• 
  Crissie (@latterisgreater) reported 12 minutes ago

  @etrade your customer service reps are nim rods 😬

• 
  hi (@byehiselllo) reported 15 minutes ago

  @etrade How about you guys fix your power trading app first

• 
  Gail (@GailHedglin) reported 17 minutes ago

  @san92ying @etrade Get atty posting here won't help

• 
  reduce-reuse-recycle (@NotAppropriate2) reported 17 minutes ago

  @etrade Signed up for new account. Attempted to add security questions/answers. Asked for phone number to complete process. Despite providing valid phone number no code is sent, just get "Unable to use your phone to verify your identify." Agent acknowledge this is known issue

• 
  Charlie Harper (@CharlieBHarper) reported 17 minutes ago

  @etrade That call, where I was again told there was a "known technical problem" was resolved, despite it taking the online agent 45 minutes of mostly delayed, circular conversation before he attempted to understand the problem, much less direct me to a solution. But he continued to tell me he couldn't get into any specifics unless I capitulated on my identifying data.

• 
  CS (@puregsd) reported 21 minutes ago

  @etrade is the worst online brokerage. They shouldn’t have a license. Their Premier team is completely unqualified and deceptive! Stay away!!

• 
  Mark Brown (@markbrownwriter) reported 21 minutes ago

  @etrade is the worst! They’ve screwed up with my submitting a stock certificate for deposit. I’ve had to call them more than a dozen times over the past two months. And I always get the same answer: Call back in a few days. I can’t wait to close my account there.

• 
  hi (@byehiselllo) reported 30 minutes ago

  @etrade yall gonna allow wash sale adjustments toggle for the site or na? or maybe spend time fixing power mobile etrade cause the app is terrible

• 
  StevenJay88 (@stevenjayhova88) reported 30 minutes ago

  @etrade FIX YOUR WEBSITE YOU DUMB *****

• 
  Justin Reda (@nitsujader) reported 35 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?

• 
  shawn (@shilohsox) reported 38 minutes ago

  @TLAMB91 @etrade You know you're having a bad day when the Kermit memes come out lol