it's unlikely that you got a 'bad batch'. Because the FDA makes us adhere to the Class 1 laser safety specification, every single chip has to be individually inspected and calibrated.
So what can go wrong.
1) Xshutdown pin: if you don't pull that high, the chip will not turn on.
2) lack of power. These chips pull a fair bit of current when the run, so check for voltage drops.
3) I2C - it's almost always I2C. Check the SDA and SCL are high when the chip is not in use. Bus-stuck-low is the most common problem.
4) I2C byte-swap or word-swap. If your MCU does not match the endianness of the chip, you think you are sending reasonable commands, but you are not.
5) do you have a coverglass. If the glass is not good enough, you will get so much crosstalk your numbers will be wrong. Read the article:
https://community.st.com/t5/mems-and-sensors/time-of-flight-cover-glass/ta-p/49259
It's important.
6) check the light - with a camera, does the light turn on? (Don't use an Iphone - the phone's IR filter is too good.)
Sorry for the lack of specifics, but you didn't give me many hints.
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