laravel config.database.php changing 'strict' mode to true blocks "mysqli_connect" to fail connecting remote database

I am using Laravel for a bit of time and at one point in order to solve "created_at column does not have default value" error, I modified the config/database.php file by setting 'strict'=true.

That solved my problem, but after setting it true I am not able to connect to remote database using "mysqli_connect" for which I was able to connect before this change. I set that 'strict' mode back to false but it still fails to connect the external database using "mysqli_connect" function.

I tried to clear the cashes and look into .env file but nothing helps. I am very stuck with this, any help would be very appreciated.

via Chebli Mohamed