Reconnecting a host to vCenter Server fails with the error: Rejected password for user vpxuser

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VMware vCenter Server VMware vSphere ESXi

Symptoms:

Hosts show Disconnected within vCenter Server
When you attempt to reconnect a host to vCenter Server, you encounter the error:

A general system error: Timed out while waiting for vpxa to start
The hostd.log on the host located at /var/log contains errors similar to:

YYYY-MM-DDT<time>Z [353BBB90 info 'ha-eventmgr' opID=708C86E6-0000025E-1e] Event 7989 : Cannot login vpxuser@ipaddress</time>

Rejected password for user vpxuser from ipaddress

YYYY-MM-DDT<time>Z [353BBB90 info 'Default' opID=708C86E6-0000025E-1e] AdapterServer caught exception: vim.fault.InvalidLogin</time>

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x

VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7

VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5

VMware vCenter Server 7.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.x

This issue occurs when the cached password for vpxuser is incorrect on the host or your account has expired within vCenter Server.

To resolve this issue, see KB: ESX/ESXi host fails to update information with the error: vmware esx cannot synchronize host. If this resolution is unsuccessful, update the vpxuser account on the host.

To update the vpxuser account on the host:

Remove the host from the inventory within vCenter Server:
```
Right click ESXi host object and select Remove from Inventory.
```
Caution: When an ESX/ESXi host is removed from the vCenter Server inventory, the virtual machines are removed from their respective folders, performance data for the host is lost, and any Distributed Virtual Switch configurations on the host need to be reconfigured.
Connect to the host through SSH and type this command to stop the vpxa service:
```
/etc/init.d/vpxa stop
```
The vpxuser now needs to be deleted. You can do so by running the below command:
```
esxcli system account remove -i vpxuser
```
Reconnect the host in the vCenter Server.

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