How to Reset MySQL Password on Amazon AWS EC2
Follow these steps (can be helpful if you really forget your password and you can try it anytime, even if you're not in the situation at the moment 😉):
1. Stop mysql
sudo /etc/init.d/mysql stop
Or for other distribution versions:
sudo /etc/init.d/mysqld stop
2. Start MySQL in safe mode
sudo mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables &
3. Log into MySQL using root
mysql -u root
4. Select the MySQL database to use
use mysql;
5. Reset the password
-- MySQL version < 5.7
update user set password=PASSWORD("mynewpassword") where User='root';
-- MySQL 5.7, mysql.user table "password" field -> "authentication_string"
update user set authentication_string=password('mynewpassword') where user='root';
6. Flush the privileges
flush privileges;
7. Restart the server
quit
8. Stop and start the server again
Ubuntu and Debian:
sudo /etc/init.d/mysql stop
...
sudo /etc/init.d/mysql start
On CentOS, Fedora, and RHEL:
sudo /etc/init.d/mysqld stop
...
sudo /etc/init.d/mysqld start
9. Login with a new password
mysql -u root -p
10. Type the new password and enjoy your server again like nothing happened