Question

Can't login to mysql as root user even though I have the password

I followed this tutorial on how to set up phpMyAdmin on Ubuntu 18.04: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-and-secure-phpmyadmin-on-ubuntu-18-04

In step 2 I’m trying to log in to mysql using the command sudo mysql but I get the error message Access denied for user ‘root’@‘localhost’ (using password: NO)

I’ve also tried logging in with the root user using the root_mysql_pass located in /root/.digitalocean_password but I get the error message Access denied for user ‘root’@‘localhost’ (using password: YES)

I’m able to log in as the user wordpress with the password wordpress_mysql_pass.

Does anyone know what’s causing this or how to solve it? Any help I can get is very much appreciated!


Submit an answer


This textbox defaults to using Markdown to format your answer.

You can type !ref in this text area to quickly search our full set of tutorials, documentation & marketplace offerings and insert the link!

Sign In or Sign Up to Answer

These answers are provided by our Community. If you find them useful, show some love by clicking the heart. If you run into issues leave a comment, or add your own answer to help others.

Bobby Iliev
Site Moderator
Site Moderator badge
May 5, 2020
Accepted Answer

Hi there @maxRay,

It looks like that the MySQL password that you are trying to use is not correct. In case that you’ve lost the MySQL root password I could suggest following the steps from this tutorial here on how to reset your MySQL root password:

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-reset-your-mysql-or-mariadb-root-password

Hope that this helps! Regards, Bobby

Hi @maxRay,

I hope you’re using this command instead of you written above.

mysql -u root -p

You’ll be asked to enter the password for MySQL root users. In case, If you forget your MySQL password, then you can reset.

Still, if you having a problem let me know.

Try DigitalOcean for free

Click below to sign up and get $200 of credit to try our products over 60 days!

Sign up

Become a contributor for community

Get paid to write technical tutorials and select a tech-focused charity to receive a matching donation.

DigitalOcean Documentation

Full documentation for every DigitalOcean product.

Resources for startups and SMBs

The Wave has everything you need to know about building a business, from raising funding to marketing your product.

Get our newsletter

Stay up to date by signing up for DigitalOcean’s Infrastructure as a Newsletter.

New accounts only. By submitting your email you agree to our Privacy Policy

The developer cloud

Scale up as you grow — whether you're running one virtual machine or ten thousand.

Get started for free

Sign up and get $200 in credit for your first 60 days with DigitalOcean.*

*This promotional offer applies to new accounts only.