What the F.A.A. Is Considering on Devices Q. What are the changes that the F.A.A. is considering? A. Passengers will be allowed to use their electronic devices to listen to music or view any digital material like e-books or movies if it was downloaded and stored before they boarded the plane. Once the plane's doors are closed, all devices must be put into airplane mode, which disables their data transfer capability but keeps the device turned on for viewing. Q. Will phone calls be allowed? Phone calls will still be banned in flight. But passengers will be able to use their smartphones for other things, like playing video games. Q. Will passengers be able to check e-mails or send messages? A. While in airplane mode, the phone's cellular functions are turned off, so passengers will have no access to the Internet while on the ground or until the flight reaches 10,000 feet. Q. What about accessing a plane's Wi-Fi network? A. Once a flight reaches 10,000 feet, airlines typically turn on their Wi-Fi systems. Passengers will then be able to get on the Web, usually for a fee. Q. What devices will this new rule apply to? A. Pretty much all devices. The F.A.A. has recognized it needs to update its policies, particularly with the proliferation of electronics, and the constant innovation in the technology world. The data restrictions will apply to new devices, too, like computerized watches or glasses. Q. When will the new rules start? A. Perhaps by next year, if there are no major hurdles. First, airlines will need to certify that their planes can handle these changes. But that's not a huge issue since many carriers already verified that when they installed their Wi-Fi systems.