MySQL fails on: mysql "ERROR 1524 (HY000): Plugin 'auth_socket' is not loaded"

My local environment is: - Fresh Ubuntu 16.04 - With PHP 7 - With installed MySQL 5.7 ```bash sudo apt-get install mysql-common mysql-server ``` *** When I tried to login to MySQL (via CLI): ```bash mysql -u root -p ``` I came across an cyclic issue with 3 steps. 1. First was some socket issue ```bash ERROR 2002 (HY000): Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' ``` **Solution**: Restarting PC. Which led to another error: 2. With access denied ```bash ERROR 1698 (28000): Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost'. ``` Possible issue? Wrong password for `root` user! **Solution**: [Reset root password with this RackSpace tutorial][1]. With correct password and working socket, there comes last error. 3. Incorrect auth plugin ```bash mysql "ERROR 1524 (HY000): Plugin 'unix_socket' is not loaded" ``` Here I stopped or somehow got to step 1. again. [1]: https://web.archive.org/web/20190123093409/https://support.rackspace.com/how-to/mysql-resetting-a-lost-mysql-root-password/