Sporadically not receiving texts sent to me from iMessage users-- how do you deal?

As most here are probably aware, there are issues communicating between iMessage and Android MMS/SMS apps. For me, I will send a message to an iMessage user and they may or may not receive it with no error message. Sometimes it's the other way around. I have tried to deregister my number from iMessage (my number is not registered with them apparently) and I've made sure I have sufficient data and/or wifi and watched it happen (or not happen) in real time. I've heard of AirMessage but chances of someone with an Android phone having a spare Apple pc to leave powered on all day seems quite slim. To this day I can't get my American peers to install WhatsApp without major pushback. As someone who does not participate in major social media platforms (for my mental health), this has resulted in many missed opportunities time and time again. So I have a 2 part question: 1) What exactly is the technical explanation for this phenomenon? 2) In late 2023, what is the state of the art "solution" for this ongoing frustrating problem? Has anyone out there "fixed" inter-platform messaging for themselves?