Question

Cannot login after resetting root password

I am trying to access my server terminal from my new computer. I tried adding an ssh key by following the guide, but I get the Permission denied (publickey) error. I then turned to the browser console but can only use the Recovery Console because the Droplet Console for native-like terminal access has not been set up. Unfortunately I forgot my password so I have had to Reset Root password. I get the email and enter the recovery password, enter that, create a new password. But now its not accepting my new password.

Where do I go from here?


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alexdo
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November 7, 2022

Hello there,

Make sure to enter the password without blank spaces and also try to type it manually as copy/paste might not be working.

Once you can access the droplet via the recovery console you can temporarily enable password authentication and then upload your ssh-key. You can later on again disable the password-authentication.

Regards

KFSys
Site Moderator
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October 21, 2022

Hi @nicholasjames,

The Recovery Console should be enough for you in this case. You can check this tutorial on how to use it:

https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/droplets/how-to/recovery/recovery-console/

Using the Root password should be done in the recovery console and then you can add the proper SSH key or allow PasswordAccess for your Droplet from the sshd_config located in /etc/ssh/sshd_config. If you make any changes there, don’t forget to restart the sshd service:

  1. service sshd restart

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Hi @nicholasjames,

I am very sorry for what happened.

I have found a very interesting video that explains the process to follow for How To Reset Your DigitalOcean Droplets Root Password.

Hope that helps you,

Sergio Turpín