Part of the issue with Z-Wave exclusion (and inclusion) has to do with the patchy nature of compatibility within the Z-Wave ecosystem. Nominally 'all' levels of Z-Wave devices are compatible with each other at some functional level, but dig a little deeper and you will find a rat's nest of incompatibilities at the feature level.
Some facts that bear keeping mind when joining and excluding devices in a network:
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Not all Z-Wave devices can be factory reset by the end user (only 500 series and later devices were actually required to implement a device level 'factory reset' capability; many older devices like non-plus GE/Jasco switches, early Aeon sensors and the like cannot be reset by the end user; they rely completely on exclusion to permit them to be joined to a new network. Newer generations can be reset with a series of taps of the rocker or activation of some other switch. But many older devices have no built-in reset capability
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Not all Z-Wave devices can be 'paired in place', even those that natively support that capability-- it may not work in their installed environment. Some only support inclusion ('Classic' inclusion) within radio range (single hop max distance) of the hub-- and some, like locks, may need to be even closer to the hub on initial join.
The success of NWI in general depends on whether or not the device itself supports it (Z-Wave version dependent; compliance statement can be examined for this feature), whether or not repeating nodes in the path of this device to the controller also support NWI, and whether the controller itself is properly set to do an inclusion using NWI (vs. the classic 'in-radio range' method). If any one of those criteria isn't met, you need to physically move your controller and device within range, and following its re-location initiate a repair on the node so it can discover its new in-range neighbor nodes.
- And finally, even among devices that support NWI, Network Wide Exclusion is also not a universal feature. It depends on the Z-Wave level of the devices in your network. As recently as March, 2018, this section appears in the 'Z-Wave Network Installation Maintenance Procedures User Guide' (Silicon Labs Document INS12712):
"Z-Wave does currently not support network wide exclusion of devices so when excluding a nodes fromthe network that are out of range of the gateway another exclusion strategy must be used.
Removal of devices in direct range
When excluding a device in direct range of the gateway it can be done in a similar way as inclusion.
- Put the gateway in exclusion mode by calling ZW_RemoveNodeFromNetwork()
- Put the device in learn mode by calling ZW_SetLearnMode() and send out a node informationframe by calling ZW_SendNodeInformation()
Removal of the node should now be done by the protocol and the gateway will remove information aboutthe deleted device and the device will be reset to default.
If the device is out of direct range the removeprocess will not start on the controller. Devices out of direct range will need to be moved into direct range of the gateway or the gateway will need ot be moved in order to exclude nodes out of direct range with this method."
At some Z-Wave version level, Network Wide Exclusion is supported; I'm not sure exactly which...
