Thinking this would be good for me to add to the Ghost removal doc as a "maybe try this" option for those who don't have initial success.
That and the "Wait until morning" @SuperDupe suggested. Seems like neither can hurt, both might help. 
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Thanks for reminding me about this... I tried doing the update function in PCS and it error'd out as well... That function has always worked for me in the past but in dealing with these ghosts I forgot it did not work either... In this case, I only tried it after hitting the is failed button... I was trying all sorts of things and that was one of them... Maybe it would have worked before I tried to remove the ghosts?
The databases should not have been that far apart because I added my z-stick in PCS right before trying to remove the ghosts... I have always removed it after using it and don't leave it connected. I assume the database in PCS is generated upon adding in the secondary controller?
Anyway, just adding info if it helps with anything or anyone in the future... 
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Awesome. I was ripping out my hair with a ghost, that my C7 on latest firmware could not remove, even after multiple reboots, shutdown & pull power, stick finger in left armpit, jumping in circles.
All I had to do was wait 3 days for PC controller to be able to remove the ghost.
So you're on to something here...
Huge Thank You
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Entering this thread to see if there are any suggestions for how to deal with my situation.
I have a ghost node that I cannot remove. When I attemp to remove the node, I see the following error in the logs: "Failed node 55 remove status: 0 SDK failure node is no longer in failed node list".
I've tried doing the "refresh" and "remove" dance -- I cannot get the ghost node to go away. I've tried rebooting and power cycling the hub.
I do have a cloud backup on a date before the problem happened. Earlier on this thread it was suggested that restore from cloud backup could clear the problem up. Double checking if it makes sense to give this a try, and asking if there is any risk that the restore could fail and leave me in a worse situation.
Some details on my hub:
Hubitat Elevation® Platform Version 2.3.0.124
Hardware Version Rev C-7
The ghost node was originally a Zooz ZEN26.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
marc
I believe that means that the hub is still able to ping the node....so it is not marked as failed and can not be removed. You need to remove power to the node in question and then try refresh and remove.
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Thank you for responding.
The node / device in question is already powered down & disconnected from all power sources.
Marc
The removal process is a bit of an ordeal, but in its defense, it should be to some degree... not THIS much, but the process involves checking that the device really is failed twice.
If you were to use a secondary controller and SiLabs PC Controller to step through this using the low level commands, you'd click "Is Failed" and let that run to completion. The controller sends messages to the device and if nothing comes back, it's marked as failed. If it gets a response, then clearly it's not failed and the check ends. It's only after the device gets marked as failed that you can click the "Remove Failed". That does another check on the device and again, if it responds, the remove ends and removed from the is failed list. You have to start all over.
The hub is trying 1) to do all this behind the scenes with a single button click, and 2) provide some feedback on where the process has halted. Clearly if this worked the first time as it's intended, we wouldn't be discussing these excruciating details
There's two paths of advice... first, the hub isn't in charge of the process... it initiates it and then waits for the ZWave chip to do all the work. Sometimes the hub will appear to come back as if it's done, but the chip is still working on it. In other words, patience is a requirement 
Second path is to get a ZWave USB stick and include it to your hub and then use the low level PC Controller tool to manually walk through the steps. Since this order/install process can take a day or two, I'd try letting the hub work on it no more than 3 clicks an hour.. or once every 20 mins. Even using the low level PC Controller tool, I've needed to click "Is Failed" 4-5 times. There's a strong Cache involved I suspect.
Thank you for responding!
Are you suggesting I try doing 3 removes over the next hour from the HUB, or is this only relevant if using a USB stick?
Thanks!
Marc
From the hub, correct.
If you find it's still Stuck and giving you the same
Then you should consider buying a ZWave USB stick from Digikey or Mouser (~$30) and downloading the PC Controller from SiLabs. You'll have to create a free account there and you'll have to get the Suite and then download PC Controller from within... That's me parroting back what I think I've read others need to do in 2021-2022. I got the software earlier than that and was able to download PC Controller all by its self... those days are over I guess.
SiLabs has released a new code set for the 700 series chips and it's being evaluated all over the world, including within Hubitat. Many of us are hoping that this code will make it into a Hubitat release sooner or later and that it fixes this issue. Time will tell but I wouldn't advise you wait and see.
Thank you for the ideas. I will try the remove.
Do you have any perspective on the idea of restoring from a cloud backup before the problem occurred? My understanding is that the cloud backup can also restore the radio configuration...
Marc
You lose everything you did between then and now.. any devices added, or removed, any Rule edits, etc. You literally rewind to that day.
If I were encountering this, I'd pick adding a secondary and using PC Controller. But I'm biased because I have them here at my finger tips.
{Note:
both mouser and digikey are out of stock on the UZB-7 (700 series) USB Stick, but digikey has the UZB-3 (which you have to match to your ZWave region. UZB-3U for USA) Amazon has the Zooz S2 which I think I read worked with PC Controller.}
The magic is to wait a day or 2, then it will be removable. No idea why
I believe it is properly stated as "The Cache is strong with this one"
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In my case I won't lose anything because I backup daily and I didn't make any changes between the backup and when the problem happened.
Great feedback. I'll wait a couple of days before I do anything else.
Marc
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Any luck yet? And I feel ya. We're so conditioned to have it all immediately. Same day delivery, instant movie streaming, instant text responses and it has warped our sense of time and destroyed whatever little patience we had.
Was it the girl in willy wonka? "I want it now Daddy"
God help us all
Veruca Salt
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Thanks for checking in!
I tried removing it yesterday morning without success, so I decided to not try today. I will give it a try tomorrow, so that it will have been at least 48 hours since my previous attempt.
Marc
For giggles you can try the unplug at the wall for 5 mins again to see if it helps free it up... The other issue if you have a ghost node is if the device that created it is still powered up it won't allow the remove.
The device that created the ghost node is offline and disconnected from power.
When I did it before I only unplugged the hub for about a minute. Will leaving it unplugged for a longer period of time have an impact?
Thanks!
Marc
Frankly I'm not sure it matters, but it also shouldn't hurt anything, and only costs you five minutes of waiting time. 
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