SmartThings has started automatically adding a “ghost” device(s) to hubs. There is no longer a need to use the “Scan nearby” function in the ST app; simply putting the Zigbee device into pairing mode is enough for the hub to add it. I’m not sure if this is a feature (or a quirk) of the latest firmware version.
If the SmartThings team wants to investigate this further, I captured the hub log at 2026-07-20T11:51Z. Ghost devices were added at 2026-07-20T11:33:30.710Z.
I had been using the device for testing, after which I removed both the device and the driver. When I put the device again into pairing mode, it and three child devices appeared on the hub.
More info about device and testing before device removing: