Do you have hard water? That can make beans not get soft if you’re boiling them.

Get the beans and water to a boil, then turn down the heat until it's just simmering.

Simmer for 1 hour, then taste test. Most dried beans will be tender, but some dried beans that have been sitting on the shelf for a long time might take up to 1 more hour of simmering, for a total of 2 hours.

I've never had dried beans take more than 2 hours of simmering to tenderize.

Dried lentils take much less time, usually about 45 minutes.

Pour off all the water and rinse the beans until the water runs clean. The bean simmering water contains much of the indigestible sugars that make you fart after you eat beans.

Now the beans are ready to make soups and chili or however you want to use them.

But yeah, 20-40 minutes in a pressure cooker is a lot faster.