This guide details the specific rules to follow when creating a user password with mysqli_connect() that contains the character $.

Preamble

• If, when using mysqli_connect(), you get the error message "Access denied for user" and your database user password contains a $ sign, the issue may be due to the way strings work in PHP.

Rules to follow

When the special character $ is used in a user password and it is followed by any character other than a number, the variable name is not valid and the substitution does not occur correctly.

Here are some solutions to fix this:

• Enclose the password in single quotes: '$******'
• Ensure that a number directly follows the dollar sign: "$2*****"
• Use a backslash to "escape" the dollar sign in the password: “\$****”