@mhaseebmlk , the exempt from counting days present applies ONLY for the visa under which it was granted -- thus for F-1 ( and the dependent visas for that F-1) the five Calendar years , are valid ONLY as long as person meets the requirements of the visa. So in your particular case , the exempt status was valid Jan 1st 2017 through the last full day before your visa was changed to H-1B. From that day on-wards you would be counting all full days present towards SPT.
Does this answer your query and/or can I do more for you ?
pk
