Thanks for explaining, I didn’t know it was such a mess.
This also explains why I had so many problems with calling when I tried to use unlocked flip phones and dumb phones in years past. There were always issues with my voice not coming through, it being to quiet, or missing calls altogether. After that I ditched them for a Pixel, only to have the mic in it die at 6 months. I’m legitimately cursed with calling issues.
Dual-boot Linux Mint, and install Microsoft fonts from the package manager to make documents more cross compatible. Should be a fairly easy migration for your use case. It took me about a year of dual booting to completely switch over to Mint, but it was worthwhile.