I have my first ghost that I cannot get rid of from my C7. What USB stick should I get today for ghost removal and firmware updates? Stay with 700 series or get an 800 series?
Something else?
Either would work equally well for those purposes. If they're the same price, might as well get the 800 IMHO.
Also: obligatory speech that using other controllers for ghost removal (while advocated by some) is not officially supported, so doing so is at your own risk. 
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I like the Aeotec Z-Stick:
https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Z-Stick-Z-Wave-create-gateway/dp/B00X0AWA6E
because it has a battery and can be used to Include/Exclude devices while you carry it around. That extra feature is worth a lot in my view... which probably explains why I have 3. (Lost 2, bought another, then found the original 2.)
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What is the supported method then?
I included a Zooz ZEN34, updated the firmware, excluded it, and on the re-include something glitched and I am left with a ghost that will not remove. When trying to remove it from the zwave details page I get these messages in the logs:
I have tried:
Remove batteries from Zen34
Power down hub and then power up and let settle for a little while
Remove device from zwave details page - see logs above
I put the batteries back in the Zen34 and was able to include it again and it seems to work fine. Just have the ghost:
The built-in node management tools. Having a ghost isn't a guarantee of a problem (especially when it's a battery-powered device like this), but using other controllers to manage nodes is also a risk. That being said, many people do it with apparent success--just wanted to pass along what Support has told us.
The problem you're seeing was something that many early C-7 users saw, which Silicon Labs eventually addressed by getting rid of their homegrown radio database format in favor of a more common solution. However, this only applies to new networks, as far as I know (i.e., existing networks will not change, including hub migrations--so this could still happen on a C-8 that way). There may be other causes, too (it's supposed to mean that the device was marked as failed, essentially non-responsive, at some point but now no longer is), but this is/was a common one.
LOL...I'm still looking for a key to one of our cars that has gone into hiding somewhere in our house. Two years now...
@JamesTX10 - You can use any UZB stick you want...below is one that is relatively inexpensive:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/silicon-labs/SLUSB001A/9867108
Guide here for using it here, if you haven't seen it yet. Before going the UZB route take a look at the section of the topic that covers using the built-in methods.
Oh, my. Your house must be huge if one of your cars can be hiding somewhere inside for two years.
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I have the Zooz 800 series, purchased for this very purpose. I had a ghost for the longest time and although there seemed to be no negative effects on Hub operation, eventually my OCD got the better of me
First try was with a old Aeon Z-Stick S2. I couldn't delete the node using the Silicon labs development. I eventually purchased the Zooz 800. This did the trick, following one of the instruction posted in this forum I was able to delete the ghost node.
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In my 45+ years working in the bay, I have lost and found a lot of tools in cars. My favorite screwdriver/socket/wrench would only reappear after I bought a replacement.
I would purposely not buy a SnapOn or MAC replacement and bought a Craftsman or SK equivalent. I wouldn’t lose those. But they didn’t fit my gorilla hands so back to the tool truck.
Recently my wife misplaced her keys. I put an Apple AirTag on them about a year ago. Was not able to locate it because the battery was discharged. Last thing my wife remembered was coming home with armloads of groceries and needing to use the bathroom NOW. The $145 Toyota key and a Viper remote were on the key ring. Fortunately I had duplicates of everything. And the fact that she drove home meant the keys were on our property.
After days searching, she went into a pile of laundry to put some pants in the wash and the keys were in a pocket.
She had been getting messages on her iPhone about the AirTag battery. She won’t ignore them any more. Both AirTags batteries have been changed.
Sorry to get winded.
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This is why I now have air tags on all of our key rings, 1 on each dog, 1 on each car, and one in each of our wallets. We started with Tile but the air tags worked out better and are cheaper in the long run.
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Wow, that's cheap... We're were quoted over $400 for replacement key for my son's Sonata.
I have an AirTag on each of my AirTags.
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But do you have a case for those air tags that you can attach an airtag to? If not you're just a poser...
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Is it a Smart Key? That would explain the price difference. I was in good with the parts manager at the Toyota dealer so I got the key for cost. I have an old Dell laptop running the latest Toyota software, so adding the key is no big deal.
On a tangent, NEVER clone a key. Have a duplicate made with a new immobilizer chip and pair that to the vehicle. I have seen vehicles towed in that would not start. If the customer had an OEM key, they bring it and it starts right up. Cloned keys work to an extent, but are not reliable.
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Don't know if there's levels of keys with these cars, but it was the standard key that the car came with. Keep it in your pocket, lock and unlock doors and trunk, and start the car without having to take the key out of your pocket.
Not sure what you mean by cloning a key.
Some locksmiths simply copy the key with the information from the chip instead of registering a new chip with the computer in the car. My 2005 F150 allows this but newer vehicles with see the serial on the chip and the cloned registered information from the oem key and sat WTF... I don't like this.... (At least that's the way I understand it)
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I may be having a DOH moment, it just never occurred to me to look on Amazon for one of these types of keys.
Key Fob fits Hyundai Kia Smart Keyless Entry Remote 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (SY5HMFNA04) https://a.co/d/dvanUeQ
Evidently you can get one of these and have either the dealer or an independent car locksmith program it to the car:
The Hyundai dealership wanted a bit more than CDN $500.00 to replace it. My local mechanic said I could find a replacement here at Amazon. Sure enough, there it was...CDN $43.00! I ordered it, took it to the Hyundai dealer, who charged CDN $65 to program it.
Since this would just be a spare sitting in a drawer 99% of the time I think I may go this way. I'm still hopeful that the one I've lost somewhere in our house will turn up...
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Be careful. I've tried buying keys like this off amazon before and twice I had to return them as they actually had no chip in them. Besides, you can use a USB cable to start these cars now.. 
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Yeah, I'm assuming I may have to try a two or three of them to get something that works...but just will not bend over and take it in the rear like the stealership wants me to, to get a key from them. Just find their pricing insulting.
The USB trick only works on cars with a key.
Best theft deterrent is a manual trans vehicle.
Cloning keys is really hit and miss. You will find places like Walmart cloning keys because they don’t have the tech or equipment to add a key to the PCM the correct way. Most reputable locksmiths will use a scanner to add the key. I would call your local locksmith and ask what a smart key would cost for the whole thing.
When you get parts from one place and the labor at another, there will be no guarantee if something fails. My old shop used to install customer’s parts if they asked, but when the new owner took over, that stopped. Previously, if a customer wanted us to use their parts, we checked what the profit was that we would have made if they bought the parts from us. We would add that to the estimate. Man, they would gripe. Then we would say “you wouldn’t bring your own eggs to the baker, or your own steak to Applebees”
