iMessage (group & individual) sending as Text Message • RCS

Since updating to iOS 18.1 and 18.2 iMessages have not been working properly.

• Some (but not all) group chats with all iPhone users have become green and my responses have split the group chat to individual messages on the receiving end. To me, I still see the single group chat but it is green with limited functionality.
• Some (but not all) individual messages with another iPhone user have become green. With one contact only, sometimes our convo switches back to blue, while all other impacted messages stay green.
• At times my message will go out blue like it is really trying to be an iMessage, then I get a red alert icon that it wasn’t sent, and then it sends as text message/RCS.
• Weirdest thing is that it’s not all messages but just some… and it’s almost like a plague where once it turns with one contact and I’m in a group chat with that contact then the group chat will turn.
• I have also been informed that I haven’t been receiving some messages.
• I have turned off/on iMessage, my phone, reset network settings, made sure my iMessage is signed in. Am on WiFi. Nothing works.

Anyone have a proper fix to this? I’ve scanned Reddit and there are others experiencing the same issue and have gone as far as factory resetting their device with no resolve.

I have an iPhone 12 Pro and am on 18.2