Finally, after years of living with the ghosts, I was able to remove them. Thank you very much, following every step I didn't miss a thing, everything was perfect. Many thanks to everyone for this fantastic work, especially @danabw who quickly answered my request for help, and the excellent material here. Without a doubt the best clarification post in the whole community.
I'm glad things worked out well for you. 
Thanks for the very nice message.
Two questions:
I have a number of devices that show no route but appear to be ok. Example:
The definition of ghost above is one that has no route. However this device and the others like it appear to be fine. So just confirming that there is nothing wrong with not having a route in this case?
Second question, can you remove an S2 authenticated ghost with Hubitat built-in tools? I have tried remove on one node several times and all I get is Pending. I am not sure how long I should wait before I move over to getting out the Silabs tools?
That's not a ghost. Routes will eventually populate in your example) You can go to the device page itself and try to force a refresh and it will populate
Yes, you should be able to. Some ghosts are more stubborn than others, but S2 should not keep the Hub tools from removing the ghost.
THere is a button at the top of the Z-Wave details page - click it and some of your Z-Wave details info should update...
Does the [Guide] Firmware Update using PC Controller (Z-Wave Devices) method still work? I've used it successfully in the past to remove ghost devices with a UZB stick (GoodWay Z-Wave Plus USB Z-Dongle Z-Wave Radio Stick WD6050). However, I've tried it multiple times over the past few weeks with no success. Pairing never completes with my C-8 (2.3.9.201). I've tried re-installing everything on a different PC. I've excluded the UZB dongle many times. I've probably tried 100 times overall. The UZB is 10 ft away from the Hubitat, clear line of site. Before I waste more time, can someone confirm that this method still works and that a Hubitat update didn't break something? Thanks.
Sorry, confused. The column labelled route is blank for this device. I have a number of devices that are showing no details in this column. Are you saying this is not the lack of route I should be looking for?
The refresh buttons on the individual devices or at the top do not appear to be adding any new information. Out of the three potential ghosts I have been working on one is saying "Device is Not responding" but will not give me a remove. The other two are showing "Pending". Time to get out the laptop with the Zooz stick and take them out there.
As far as I know it works. Do a reset on the stick with pc controller then do a shut down and unplug the hub for 30 seconds. Try pairing the stick after it boots back up.
Thanks for the advice Jeff. I gave that a try a couple of times but it didn't make any difference. I can exclude the stick via Hubitat, but neither NWI nor Classic mode work. Hubitat and PC Controller just eventually timeout ("15:19:17.340 Learn mode Removed completed in 00:01:05.639").
Thanks - I know it is a legit device - I use it to monitor the power line in case of failure. I tried multiple times to get it to update and gave up. Tried again this morning and what do you know - it updated.
One question about the Z-wave details page. In the documentation it says "Shows the hops the Z-Wave signal takes from the hub to the device (using hexadecimal node IDs) and the speed of the link"
It seems to not always to keep the last known route there as I see various devices showing no route when I bring up the page at different times? Then I refresh them and get a route. And then can look later and they may or may not have a route in there?
There have been some issues with the ZWave statistics refresh lately and I believe the staff may be re-working it. Until then it might be wisest to click the refresh button when you first open the screen to ensure you’re looking at the most recent data.
Thats pretty much normal right now.
You can either refresh the individual device or click the refresh stats at the top. The automatic stats collections was causing zwave lag so it is shut off right now while they figure it out and you have to click the button.
I clicked the button earlier today to see if it would stop z-wave rules from running as it had when it was automatic on the hour and half hour. And yes, stuff didn't work, for a short time!
I have a new C8-Pro (2.4.0.151), and have been experimenting with various zooZ Z-wave 800 series devices, as well as sensors that support LR & S2. I plan a 60+ zooZ switch/dimmer/controller home installation entirely LR, with a mix of sensors, preferably Z-Wave LR S2.All devices have been included using the iOS app 2.0.9 (356) via SmartStart. I have confimed that the switches ZEN71, ZEN72, ZEN76, ZEN77, and the ZEN32 controller all commuicate thoughout the footprint of my home and yard configured as LR S2. All devices have been included using the iOS app 2.0.9 (356) via SmartStart.
The only switches (lines powered), with which I have inclusion challenges have been within about 10' of the Hubitat. Inclusion succeeded after a multiple attempts, though of course I created ghosts though my experimentation. I have also created ghosts experimenting with a Ring G2 contact sensor.
-Is there any way to remove a ghost LR S2 device once it has been "force reset"? If I understand correctly, the PC/USB stick hack only works with meshed nodes, and I now understand that force reset == BAD w/r to eliminating ghosts. Is a hard-reset of the hub the only way forward after a "force reset", and if not what is it?
-Are there any circumstances where a "force reset" is advised? If so when and why?
-I understand the issues associated with ghosts that have mesh neighbors. Are ghosts where ALL devices direct connect to the hub (e.g. entirely LR), also problematic? If so, why?
Thanks for any guidance!
Ghosts are from failed pairing or from failed removals. LR devices don't show up in the normal z-wave table so the silabs software won't remove them. For LR ghosts, it's best to shut down the hub, unplug power for 1 minute and then power back up. Go to your z-wave details page and click refresh on the ghost line. (Once). Wait for the remove button to appear. Click the remove button (once only) and wait. Repeat until its gone. @bertabcd1234 I think has other tips.
With the case of LR distance within your home should not be an issue. With non LR devices, it's a case of the strength of your mesh. So as long as you have a repeating node (one that is mains powered) You should have no problems pairing. That said when you build your mesh, start only with mains powered devices and pair outwards. After that start pairing battery devices and pair outwards.
Any time you have a failed pairing, STOP. Check your z-wave details page for a ghost and remove it before continuing. Ghosts not only hinder mesh performance but they also can hinder pairing.
I currently have 109 Long Range devices.
Plus, I manged to create 10 ghosts.
They can't be removed; something about SiLabs, or whatever.
I get slapped down every time I bitch about it.
Supposedly it'll be fixed at some undetermined point in the future.
The good news is that is doesn't appear to affect performance since it's not a mesh, and ghosts, apparently, only mess with meshes.
Is the Ring G2 LR?
Are you using @jtp10181 's SmartStart manager? It's quite nifty.
I find that SmartStart's only real use is getting the device included.
I have a lot that still say Pending, but they're in the device list and work fine.
As a result, I just disable them in SmartStart manager.
Another good thing about the app is that you can created backups of your SmartStart list, in case of problems, Heaven forbid.
Sometimes SmartStart is just balky. I've included many devices in a row with no problems then....boom. Don't want to force remove if you can help it.
One key I've figured out, is don't try to include more than one at a time. I did that trying to minimize going up and down the stairs flipping breakers...that's when I got the majority of those 10 LR ghosts. Factory resetting the devices after the failure, with hub lockup (too busy with the multiple include requests I suppose) were also involved. Once the devices were factory reset, had to do the forced reset. Hindsight is 20/20.
I've got a bunch of LR ZEN73 toggle type switches and one dimmer. Many LR Zooz plugs, leak sensors, contact sensors, motion sensors. I got several of the new ZEN16's that I haven't installed yet. The only ones I've had bad luck with so far are the tilt sensors-weak.
I have no idea about the failure to include at close range. Was it directly above or below the hub, ie, were the hub antennae pointing at them? Grasping at straws.
All in all though, LR rules! 
Is the Ring G2 LR?
Yes it is. Though I was not able to get it to work well … the hub produces two events (open & open or close & close), 21 seconds apart for each sensor event. I have been diverted on other issue so I haven’t explored further (and my experimenting so far with it is the source of one of my ghosts).
Are you using @jtp10181 's SmartStart manager? It's quite nifty.
I am not currently able to load it. I can find it in Package Manager but when I try to load with “Next” it I just get a brief spinning dots and the UI remains on the same page. I think my hub is hose. My database disappeared on a reboot for unknown reasons though I was able to restore it from a backup. Factory reset coming.
I have no idea about the failure to include at close range. Was it directly above or below the hub, ie, were the hub antennae pointing at them? Grasping at straws.
No, one switch is 5 feet to the side at the same height, the other about 10 feet to the side and 10 feet up. But correlation can be coincidence so 
.
I don't use it. But that's just me.
Again, if the ghosts are long range, they shouldn't affect system performance.
It's unclear how many devices you have, if they're in the wall, etc, but that's pretty drastic, no?
I have no idea what the procedure would be for that.
Would you ideally exclude all devices first?
How does SmartStart complicate things?
There are best practices procedures around; I believe @jtp10181 's put one out.
I'd say, research, so you don't cause yourself more grief.
Buying the cloud backup service is pretty cheap protection, I feel, for preserving the radios' settings.
Good Luck.
