Proximity Sensor Issues and Signal Issues

Question

I've had my N3 for about 3 months now I think. I don't know if I was just really in love with it at first or if it's actually consistently getting worse. I think it's getting worse, because I still love it, sometimes.
The most annoying issue just started in the last few weeks. I've read about a lot of other people having this same issue as well so I know it's not just me. When making a call and putting the phone to my ear, typically the screen turns off as it should. Then moving the phone away at the end of the call and the screen comes back on. Well now it doesn't come back on. I have to physically push a button to get the screen back on so I can end the call. Last night I made an a call and put the phone to my face and it didn't turn off either. This makes for particularly awkward periods of time where you can't say anything because you can still hear the other person on the phone and can't get your to hang up. Very annoying when you're in a hurry because you stepped out to answer a call or something. This also seems to be a well documented problem.
The more persistent issue started a while back with the software update that claimed to "Improve Connectivity" in November I think it was. I spend a lot more time without 4G since this update. I live in a big-ish city and I never had so many issues losing 4G with my Droid Charge. But now I frequently drop 4G and go back to 3G or quite frequently down to 1X. This is particularly common in buildings, which I understand could present issues but we're talking about 1 story buildings, 20 feet or so from the front wall which is mostly windows. I often can't use my phone inside at all unless theres wifi. On a recent road trip we stopped at a gas station and my wife pulls out her S4 and checks facebook, sends some messages, checks her email, etc. I pull out my phone and have no signal AT ALL. Can't even text or make a call, have the circle with a line through it. After several minutes of fumbling through turning mobile data on and off, airplane mode on and off I finally get a bar and a 1X connection.
This is a practically brand new $300 (only because I signed a contract, really what $600?) phone that I can't rely on to make phone calls while a mile off the interstate at a gas station? I don't expect 4G there maybe, but phone calls.. yeah that should work. Everywhere. Alright maybe not the backwoods of Idaho or something, but if you're within earshot of the main interstate through a state you should be able to make phone calls.
Very Frustrated,
Phillip

Answer 1

phillip.greene wrote:
So I guess no one from Verizon actually reads or responds to messages here?
This is a peer-to-peer forum; VZW reps occasionally respond to threads marked as a question (this one wasn't, unfortunately), but they don't respond to every post and it's sometimes days after a post is left.  And re-posting in a new thread to mark it as a question is against the forum's Terms of Service since it's a duplicate post. 
Service isn't guaranteed in buildings.  One thing you can try (especially when you're traveling) is turn off the phone, wait a minute or two, then turn the phone back on and allow it to re-establish a network connection.  That allows the SIM card to automatically update the Preferred Roaming List (PRL), which may help.  If it doesn't, try turning off the phone, removing the SIM card (be careful not to touch the gold contacts), then re-insert the SIM card, turn the phone back on, and allow it to re-establish a network connection.  If that doesn't help, you could try a new SIM card (they're free at your local Corporate Verizon store).