Sorry, I didn't read every comment so excuse me if this was mentioned, but I have the IR Sensor and using painters tape on the bed works pretty well.... I use the painters tape for some prints, and found the IR sensor works well when the tape is left on when running the bed leveling routine. Might just leave the tape on the 3 spots near the Z screws for Auto Bed leveling when I don't need it...
A while back, the nozzle hit the bed pretty hard and since then my IR Probe can get funky at times. When it does, I just unplug it, wait a few seconds and plug it back in. Also, I was having trouble getting it to work on glass (white surface under glass, and light right above printer). I have a BLTouch on the printer to help out when needed, but since I found it works well with tape, I am considering removing the BLTouch altogether.