This is such a bummer to hear. That makes sense because I have definitely not been working on high end phones. I've only worked on one where I needed to remove the back glass (which was a bitch until I figured it out!) but once I popped it open it wasn't too bad. Sounds like things are getting worse and maybe won't get better for a bit...

I'm curious, do you ever see any type of DRM or software locks if you replace any components? I'm just a weekend warrior so I don't work on a ton but I've tried to help out a friend or two by replacing components and there's been a few times it seems like everything is in place but the phone just won't allow the replaced components. I just assumed I messed something up but I've heard of some fishy business where phones won't allow aftermarket components on some parts of the phone (I've mainly only had this issue dealing with switching out camera components)