Defective iPhone 7's

In the past 3 weeks I have spent more time in the Verizon store than I have in the past 3 years. I initially went in to get help because my iPhone 7 wouldn’t allow me to make calls, send texts or access my applications without being connected to wifi. It constantly showed “no service” in the left hand corner, they told me that this was a common flaw with the 7’s. The workers helped me file a claim and I was sent a “new” replacement phone that was even more defective than my original one, so I took it back and they filed a new claim for me and shipped me a new replacement. The 2nd replacement worked for a week and before it started having the same issues. When going in again, the manager told me flat out that my only options were to file another claim and get another phone sent in the mail or pay to have my phone upgraded, which financially is not an option. A different employee pulled me aside and told me that he didn’t recommend doing another claim because a customer is only allowed so many claims in a year, which I was not aware of before. He first tried to trouble shoot and then had me call Verizon to file a claim for a post-warranty defect. A half hour+ phone call later I was told that the iPhone 7 has a recall out for it and if I keep making claims then I’ll most likely just keep getting defective a phone in return. She told me I need to take my phone to the closest apple store, which is an hour away from me, and that they may be able to fix it there. I was extremely upset that the Verizon manager failed to give me this information that seemed to be common knowledge according to the woman on the phone. I am even more upset with the company for continuing to distribute phones knowing they are defective. Not only did I waste two of my claims (almost three if I had listened to the manager) only to receive defective phones, but I’ve also wasted so much time in the past three weeks trying to get everything figured out. My family and I have been loyal Verizon customers for over ten years now and have been Apple users for nearly seven years, we have had a great experience up until now. I am beyond frustrated and do not have the time to be dealing with these same issues every week, as I am a full time student who works two jobs. With as much money as my iPhone cost me, it is completely ridiculous that it has been so difficult to replace with a functioning phone, especially since it is a manufacturing error and not an error I caused myself. This has been made way more complicated than it needs to be and all I need is a phone that actually works.