Orbit Mobile App for phone service

Or you can ask your carrier to unlock the phone. Some will for a small fee.

Personally, I use Google Voice for outgoing calls. You can also get a phone number as well and forward your current calls to it.

I believe that the Orbit mobile app is just a software package that assists in installing an eSim on
your phone.

So, if your phone doesn't support eSim's, this is of no use to you.

You'll have to explain more about how the AT&T and Verizon plans didn't work outside of the
hotels for me to believe that (the implication being that it worked in the hotels)..... Your issue
may be your term "intl wifi service plans". I have no idea what that means.

If you specify the phone you have, it's possible to look up the specs and see what is supported
and what is not. Assuming it's a GSM phone, it has to have some kind of Sim card. You could
take out the pre-existing one and put in a new one in Europe, but that has a different set of
implications.

Not that I am advocating it, but, the process of unlocking a phone consists of pressing a
sequence of keys to enter a mode where an unlock key can be put in to unlock the phone.
These unlock keys can come from places other the wireless service provider, and that's
all I will say about that.

In the end, a burner phone is a perfectly reasonable way to access the internet and make
outgoing calls on a trip. You would have to let people who might call you know the Euro
phone # on the burner.

The reason that your WiFi Calling does not work outside the hotels, etc is that you need WiFi for it to work. If you purchase a burner phone for data, the phone needs to have a personal hotspot that you can connect to as a WiFi source. The best alternative is to get a portable WiFi device which can connect to the European cells or just get a used unlocked iPhone or similar at a lower price point and put an eSim or normal Sim into it for a data connection. You can then hotspot to the phone with your regular phone while on the move.

I think I see the issue. Cell service and wifi are two different things.

Providers like AT & T and Verizon offer cell service. if you signed up for their international plans, and turned on data roaming on your phone, it should work. This allows your phone to make calls, make and receive texts, and use data while out and about. In some cases you need to turn your phone off and on to connect to a local provider for service.

Wifi is completely different. It is offered by hotels, restaurants, etc and doesn't need any service from a provider. You just turn it on on your phone and connect to the wifi.

You need to make sure you understand the difference. That alone may solve your problems.

Not a phone tekkie wizard here, so don't beat me up too badly. This phone is a Samsung S series Android currently through Verizon. I previously had AT&T and the rep I sat down with told me just to get a Sim Card when I got to Germany. He said there was no international data plan offered within my phone plan. In Germany, the airport phone store said it was a locked phone and would not take a Sim card. While I was camped out at the baggage depot in airport for 12 hrs waiting for my luggage to find me, an automated message came thru saying that it was showing I was in Europe and there was in fact an international data and calling plan available with a link to set it up and purchase it. It never worked at all for calling in or out, or accessing internet (maps, museum sites, etc.). I could only access internet while in the hotels (for flight check-ins, buying tickets, etc.). Upon my return, I went and saw the rep at AT&T, explained the issue. AT&T refused to refund my money and cut my phone service off. (What great customer service) I then went up the street and signed on with Verizon - got new Samsung (also locked) phone. I talked extensively with reps about their international data and calling plan, explaining what I needed. And again - same thing as before - no calling or connectivity capability outside of the hotels in Europe. I spent about half a day on phone with Verizon service tech putting me thru a series of test and numerous setting changes to try and resolve the problem. No working solution was ever found. When I returned home, they could see the record of the service calls and did refund most of what I had paid including my regular monthly service charges.
At this point I just want to find the easiest least costly solution for having calling capability and internet connectivity (roaming) for the uses I have described above while outside of hotels. The magic wand for this has not waved over me yet. If you talk to 12 different people, you get 12 different answers and none of the ones I have gotten have worked so far. I do not want to buy another new expensive secondary phone or Iphone - or change service providers - again. If Verizon actually can and will "unlock" my phone to take a Sim card, I can proceed with that. If a local burner phone is the best option, I would need to transfer my apps and contacts etc to it, if that is possible. The settings on my phone show capability of adding an E Sim. I dont know if that is a workable option, or how that is even set up. It seems like I have never gotten any helpful information that actually winds up working from either of the local Verizon or AT&T stores.

You're stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Because you have a locked phone, your only option with that phone is Verizon's international data plan. Why that wouldn't connect to mobile data, I don't know. Check that data roaming is on when you're overseas.

Or you buy a new unlocked phone and stick a local SIM/eSiM in it. But set it up at home when it's connected to wifi to install your apps/accounts. Then buy a local SIM overseas for mobile data.

The Orbit app, which you started out asking about, is indeed a front end way
to install an eSim that you purchase from Orbit. So if your phone is locked
by the carrier, this is of no help, even if the phone is capable of supporting
a 2nd Sim card (physical or eSim).

But as I noted above, it is possible to purchase an unlock code online from
an entity separate from your cellular provider. Obviously I would pursue this
with Verizon first, but if you can't get anywhere, it's still possible to unlock
your phone. If you can do that, there are a myriad of Sim/Esim providers,
which will probably confuse you even more.

You need to talk to Verizon and see what it would cost to unlock your phone so you can install a different sim or ask them to add TravelPass to your account. In order to get what you want there is going to be a cost.

Some parting thoughts:

1) Those of you who say that OP can only unlock their phone through Verizon are incorrect,
and who say that the phone can't be unlocked are incorrect. Just google "unlock codes".
Now, given the issues described, I'm not sure unlocking the phone is going to be the
panacea OP wants.

2) OP, given your admitted lack of tech expertise, will you be comfortable dealing with all
the aspects of adding and using a 2nd SIM card? You will need to access settings on
the phone and be aware of the things (like your phone number) that change when you
change to a second SIM (at least when you have a voice + data SIM vs a data-only SIM).
Which is another aspect/decision you have to make.

3) Most people that have the dilemma you have fall back to using Verizon's international
plan, but it can get a bit pricey depending on how often you turn your phone on. But
you say your phone somehow doesn't work internationally and the tech people at
Verizon are unable to diagnose. In the bigger picture, how much is a new phone
(or an unlocked phone you buy on Ebay), if it allows you to just use the Verizon plan
and saves you aggravation and headaches you don't yet know you're going to hit.

Have you actually gone to a Verizon office/store and talked to a tech person in person?
I wonder, if all of your diagnostic efforts have been over the phone, whether something
has been lost in translation, so to speak.

4) If you get a cheap "burner" phone, you would just re-download (not transfer) the apps
you need for travel (and just the apps you need for travel). You can upload your contact
list to the cloud and then download it to the burner phone from the cloud.