How to change the root MySQL password with MySQL installed on Ubuntu/Linux

1. Open a new Terminal Window.

2. Type in the commands below.

    mysqladmin
   

    -u root OLDPASSWORD NEWPASSWORD
   

3. If you get the error below follow solution 2

    mysqladmin: connect to server at 'localhost' failed
   
    error: 'Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost' (using password: YES)'
   

4. If you did not get the error above restart the mySql server by typing the following command:

   sudo service mysql restart
   

Solution 2:

1. If Solution 1 did not work, this should work.

2. mySql stores usernames together with their passwords in the user table in the mySql database.

3. Open a new Terminal Window and type in the command below to Login to the mySql server.

   mysql -u root -p
   

4. Enter your password.

5. Now you need to switch to the mysql database. Type the command below

   mysql> use mysql;
   

6. Now we need to change the password. Type in the following command:

   mysql> update user set password=PASSWORD("NEW_PASSWORD") where User='USERNAME';
   

7. Flush the privileges (Reloading them) using command below:

   mysql> flush privileges;
   

8.  Exit mySql
    mysql>quit