Resolved! vl6180x register 0x004f is never set in single shot mode, yet the 0x062 contains valid distance.
EDIT [Solution]: The register 0x0014 needs to be set to 0x04. (I put more details in the reply but it has been marked as spam for some reason). I am in process of interfacing an Attiny85 (not Arduino) with a VL6180X board (with I2C level shifter buil...