I can’t ‘remove’ a z-wave device

I installed a new Enbrighten switch, but it kept failing to work properly, so I excluded and then threw it away.
Now, it is not on my ‘device’ list, but IS on my Z-wave list.
I press the “remove” button, but it does does NOT remove. It stays on the list.

This is making some of my devices (I have 18+) not work properly/consistently.

How do i get rid of this device if “Remove” does not work?

I have a new C8 Elevation Hub, with the most recent software version loaded.
I have re-booted the C8. I have shut down the C8. I have shut-down and the unplugged the C8. I have “disabled” the z-wave radio, then “enabled” the z-wave radio. Every time, I get the same results when i press the “Remove” button on the line-item of this ghost z-wave entry….Nothing changes. It is still there.

HELP.

@support

I tried to add a screen shot of my “z-wave Details” list, but it would not allow me to do so. Not sure why there is a button to add a photo, if it will not let me add a photo. I am beginning not to like Hubitat.

You have to join the owners group to post photos (cuts down on spam bots): Hub owners - Hubitat

Also please watch the log when trying to do the remove and screen shot the error that gets logged. Might say something like Node is no longer in failed list.

If you just wait around 24-48 hours the mesh should mostly have figured out that node is dead and stop trying to route through it, and things will be back to normal. This is in my experience anyway. It still good to get rid of it but just saying if you are patient it will sort itself out.

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Thanks for the ‘owners’ tip. That worked !

I added a screenshot of my “Z-wave Details” list showing the item that will not “remove”.

The “Log” screen never shows anything. It stays blank. I will post a screenshot of that ‘blank’.

How about in the main hub Logs Tab, bottom left corner of the screen? The Z-wave logs rarely show much.

Aha. See attached. (New to this Hubitat thing. Thanks for the baby-step guidance.)

How confident are you at tinkering? You've got yourself a couple of ghost devices. I had a similar problem recently where the native remove option wouldn't remove a ghost. Luckily @danabw has written an excellent guide on how to use a UZB (or other Zwave stick) and SiLabs Zwave PC Controller to remove them. You can find it Here. In that post, he has a link to a PDF version of the process. i highly recommend downloading it and keeping it handy or even printing a hard copy for reference, I will add (and this won't make sense until you try it ) If you have a C8 hub, Smart Learn mode didn't work, I had to use Classic and remove it. But either way, it usually works really well.

You can pick up a UZB7 from Digikey for around $20. It's a handy tool to have around. I recently tried a Zooz 800 stick but did not have much luck with it.

Yeah that's the error I expected. There is still something wrong with the removal on occasion and everyone just points fingers at the other party and says it works fine here. Nodes that get stuck in "Pending" like that seem to be the worse. 95% of the time it seems to work fine these days.

If I had time to try and reproduce one like that I really want to get some zniffer traffic and see why TF the zwave chip thinks it is getting a response from a dead node. Supposedly the HE system just sends commands to the zwave processor and that is what is refusing to remove the device and kicking back the error message. The software on the zwave chip is provided by Silicon Labs. So it is a hard thing for the HE team to overcome.

Hmm... I have an idea. When you click refresh a couple of time do you eventually get a "Replace" option along with the remove? Do you have ANY other zwave devices you could pair there temporarily? If you could get a device paired into that node, you could then do a proper exclusion which will remove it!

Here are my instructions on doing a replace: [Guide] Updating Firmware and ZWave Replace

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@user4374 Do this, shut down the hub cleanly from the settings menu. Then unplug power for 5 mins. Power back up and then do a refresh/remove on that device again.

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Thanks for the idea. However, it did not work.
I tried this. Several times.
It does change the item to have a “Discovery” button. Which, does nothing when I press it.
Otherwise, the “refresh/remove” ends up in the same place, with the same message in the Log as in the prior screenshot.

If you know the device that created the ghost (usually the one right after it) disconnect power from it then reboot how I instructed above and try removing again. When something like this happens it's because the device is still pingable. That said if you still can't remove it you will need a z-wave stick paired to hubitat as a secondary controller to get rid of it.

rligthgow1: thanks for the idea. I shut down the hub, then shut power to my entire house (for 5+ min), then turned all back on. It did not have any effect on removing the ghost.

You have to shut down the device and try to remove it while no power is at the device that caused the ghost(s. If after that it won't remove you will need a z-wave stick

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Aha. Well, I tried that. One of the ghosts, the device has been removed since it failed to pair. The other device, was successfully added the 2nd attempt. In both cases, I tried removing “while no power is at the device”, and both failed.

The software for z-wave stick uses PC. I only have Mac’s.

So, is my last remaining option (other fhan finding a friend with a PC), to “Reset Z-wave Radio”, and star all over building my network?

You can run parallels and a demo copy of windows. No need to nuke your z-wave radio. Even with the A1 chip

Is there an overview of how to do a “Reset Z-wave Radio”, that takes me through the process of rebuilding my z-wave network?

(Rebuilding Z-wave is less work than installing Parralels and WIndows on my Macintosh. And, even if not, my WIndows skills severely lacking.” )

OR, is there a support service that Hubitat offers to take care of this FOR ME? I will pay extra. Just want the bloody things to WORK properly.

First question to ask, is it actually causing any problems?
Once the other devices and hub realize that node is dead, in theory nothing should try to route through it, and it should not cause any issues besides just being annoying to look at.

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