Three hours and one cracked backup glass" - oh man, that's basically my story too but with a Pixel 3a. I ordered the $18 kit off Amazon (yeah, I'm cheap) and the tutorial was like 25 minutes long. Took me four hours because I dropped the tiny screws twice. The glass back shattered on my first attempt too (so frustrating). But honestly, once it was done and working, I felt like a phone repair wizard or something. Totally worth it for the price, especially on a phone that's not worth paying a shop for.

Wait you had to scrape it out with a knife?? That sounds like a nightmare. I got one a few months ago and now I'm scared to even try it.

That "pro grade" disappointment hits hard, had the same thing happen with a high end crimper that just mangled everything on the first few connectors. Makes you wonder if the cheaper stuff is actually more reliable sometimes.

Hey @nora_park72, a transit won't get you the same accuracy a total station does for checking distances.

That's a solid score for 900 bucks. Always nice when a cheap gamble actually pays off like that.