Hey there, I’ve run into this exact issue before when working with the latest MySQL versions and Visual Studio’s data source wizard—let’s walk through the most reliable solutions to get your connection working:

1. Update MySQL Connector/NET to Match Your Server Version #

The root cause often boils down to a version mismatch between your MySQL server (latest release) and the Connector/NET driver Visual Studio is using. Newer MySQL versions (8.0+) use the caching_sha2_password authentication protocol, which older drivers don’t support.

• Grab the Connector/NET version that exactly matches your external server’s MySQL version from the MySQL official site and install it.
• When setting up the data source in VS, explicitly select this newly installed driver instead of the default one that came with Visual Studio.

2. Switch Your MySQL User’s Authentication Method #

If updating the driver isn’t immediately feasible, you can modify your database user to use the older, widely supported mysql_native_password authentication. Run these commands in MySQL Workbench (since you know that connection works):

ALTER USER 'your_db_username'@'your_client_ip_or_%' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'your_password';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

• Replace your_db_username with your actual user, your_client_ip_or_% with your local IP (or % to allow connections from any IP), and your_password with the user’s password.

3. Bypass the Data Source Wizard with a Manual Connection String #

Sometimes the wizard has compatibility quirks that manual code avoids. You can set up the connection directly in your VB.NET project:
First, make sure you’ve added the MySQL Connector/NET reference (either via NuGet package MySql.Data or by referencing the installed DLL). Then use this code snippet:

Imports MySql.Data.MySqlClient

' In your method or form load event
Dim connectionString As String = "server=your_external_server_ip;user id=your_db_username;password=your_password;database=your_database_name;SslMode=Required;"
Using connection As New MySqlConnection(connectionString)
    Try
        connection.Open()
        MessageBox.Show("Connection successful!")
        ' Proceed with your database operations here
    Catch ex As MySqlException
        MessageBox.Show($"Connection failed: {ex.Message}")
    End Try
End Using

This skips the wizard entirely and gives you more control over the connection settings.

4. Refresh Visual Studio’s MySQL Data Components #

Occasionally, Visual Studio’s built-in MySQL data tools are outdated. Install the latest MySQL-related NuGet packages for your project—like MySql.Data.EntityFramework if you’re using Entity Framework—to ensure full compatibility with the latest MySQL server.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者user8894408