title: Error in phpmyadmin - `mysqli extension is missing`
body: <p>I`ve just installed LAMP stack (also tried with nginx) and after installing the phpmyadmin and trying to access 'localhost/phpmyadmin', I receive this message:</p>
  
  <pre><code>The mysqli extension is missing. Please check your PHP configuration
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I already have tried the steps from <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10769148/extension-mysqli-is-missing-phpmyadmin-doesnt-work">here</a> and also from <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10646655/the-mysqli-extension-is-missing-please-check-your-php-configuration/16621413">here</a>.</p>
  
  <p>I tried to install on Ubuntu 18.04 'php7.2-mysql' (php 7.2 is my current version of php) and 'php7.2-mysqli' redirects to 'php7.2-mysql' and both of them are already installed at its newest version.</p>
  
  <p>In the phpmyadmin documentation, here's what it is saying about the missing extension:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>1.20 I receive an error about missing mysqli and mysql extensions.</p>
    
    <p>To connect to a MySQL server, PHP needs a set of MySQL functions called >“MySQL extension”. This extension may be part of the PHP distribution >(compiled-in), otherwise it needs to be loaded dynamically. Its name is >probably mysqli.so or php_mysqli.dll. phpMyAdmin tried to load the >extension but failed. Usually, the problem is solved by installing a >software package called “PHP-MySQL” or something similar.</p>
    
    <p>There are currently two interfaces PHP provides as MySQL extensions - mysql >and mysqli. The mysqli is tried first, because it’s the best one.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>Also I have already tried to modify the php.ini file adding or uncommenting these following lines:</p>
  
  <pre><code>extension=mysqli
  extension=mysqli.so
  extension=mysqli.dll
  extension=php_mysql.dll
  extension=php_mysqli.dll
  extension=php_pdo_mysql.dll
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>and then tried to reinstall the phpmyadmin with and without configuring a database by dbconfig-common. also reinstalled mysql-server (version 5.7.24) with and without secure_installation. </p>
  
  <p>With apache2 i've installed the following php packages:</p>
  
  <pre><code>php php-cgi libapache2-mod-php php-common php-pear php-mbstring
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>With nginx i've installed the following php packages:</p>
  
  <pre><code>php-fpm php-mysql
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>but none of this even changed the error message (even after purging packages and manually removing folders and reinstalling).</p>
  
  <p>Important to note that all the programs in stack works fine. making me think that is some issue with phpmyadmin.</p>
  
  <p>So, I wanted enter to the login screen of phpmyadmin, but nothing seems to work. already tried several solutions, several times. if someone could help me with this, please answer! thanks.</p>