Air travelers carrying smartphones, digital tablets and other electronic devices have long complained about having to turn off their gadgets until reaching an altitude of 10,000 feet.


On a clear day with no air traffic, that could mean shutting off the devices for 20 minutes or so. But if a flight is delayed, this form of electronic solitary confinement can last a lot longer — and pose a significant hardship for those desperate to connect.


“People are addicted to their phones and there is a lot of dead time when you are taxiing or in the air,” said Anne Banas, the executive editor of SmarterTravel.com, a consumer travel Web site.


Now the Federal Aviation Administration may be softening a bit on the restrictions, taking a first step in possibly accommodating the growing pervasiveness of digital technology.


The agency has initiated a review of its policies about electronic devices in all phases of flight, including takeoff and landing. The F.A.A. said Monday that it would set up a group composed of technology manufacturers, plane makers, pilots and flight attendants to examine the issues this fall. The group would report back within six months.


Their mission will be to figure out whether electronic devices can cause interference with the cockpit and when to allow their use without compromising safety. The F.A.A. said it was not considering lifting the prohibition on the use of cellphones during flight.


“We’re looking for information to help air carriers and operators decide if they can allow more widespread use of electronic devices in today’s aircraft,” Michael P. Huerta, the F.A.A.’s acting director, said in a statement. “We also want solid safety data to make sure tomorrow’s aircraft designs are protected from interference.”


Aviation experts said the initiative signaled a break with the past, but they suggested travelers should not expect the ban to be relaxed significantly soon.


“I don’t think this will be a free-for-all in the end,” said Robert W. Mann, an airline analyst based in Port Washington, N.Y. “There’s a gray area in existing policy that the F.A.A. is seeking to clarify. It might end up with establishing new red lines about what you can and cannot do and give carriers more discretion.”


The current policy is that all electronic devices must be turned off once the main cabin doors are closed and until the aircraft reaches 10,000 feet, or descends below that level for landing. Above 10,000 and when planes are at cruising altitude, passengers are allowed use laptops, tablets and other electronics but not cellphones.


The rule was first introduced to stop airborne cellphones from interfering with wireless networks on the ground. In some rare instances, cellphones were also suspected of having caused radio interference inside cockpits or disrupted communications between pilots and air traffic controllers.


The F.A.A. does not actually ban the electronic devices, but it requires airlines to test them and determine that their radio frequencies do not pose a flight safety risk. Since that would mean testing thousands of types of gadgets, with more introduced each month, the airlines have simply banned their use during takeoff and landing.


That policy is becoming tougher to enforce, however. At the same time, more pilots are using iPads inside the cockpits to replace their aircraft manuals.


Henry H. Harteveldt, a travel analyst and the co-founder of the Atmosphere Research Group, said the F.A.A. and airlines had to balance the proliferation of gadgets while maintaining the industry’s stringent safety requirements.


A survey of 2,530 passengers conducted this year by Mr. Harteveldt’s company, a consulting firm, found that 35 percent of airline passengers in the United States owned a tablet device and 67 percent owned a smartphone.


“You want people to pay attention to the safety briefings but still be able to use their devices if you’re stuck on the tarmac for a long time,” he said.


Some restrictions will remain regardless of the new group’s recommendations. Aviation regulators and airlines do not want passengers to be overly distracted during takeoff and landing, which are the most hazardous phases of flight. That is why window blinds must remain open, so passengers are aware of their surroundings in case of an emergency evacuation.


Laptop computers and tablets can also easily turn into dangerous projectiles if a flight encounters heavy turbulence while landing, or if a pilot decides to abort takeoff and suddenly brakes. For that reason, they must be stowed.


But the rules could be loosened to let passengers check their e-mail or browse the Internet if a flight was delayed even after the doors were closed or once a plane reached a lower altitude, say 5,000 feet instead of 10,000.


“Let’s face it,” said Ms. Banas of SmarterTravel.com, “it would legitimize something a lot of people do already.”