Narrative:

After starting engines I got a call from the purser/number 1 that she believed she had an FAA banned samsung galaxy 7 phone on the flight. She said her phone was receiving a wifi signal from the phone and showed me a picture. Ramp requested that we move off the ramp as we were blocking traffic. I requested that ground put us on another ramp which they said they didn't have. Ground kept moving us around the airfield. A couple of pas were made by the number 1 requesting the person with the FAA banned device identify themselves by ringing their flight attendant (flight attendant) call button. The flight attendants got no response. I read the pilot alert messages to the number 1 flight attendant stating; 'if a note 7 is discovered after gate departure the fas will instruct the passenger to disconnect the device from any charging source; turn the device off; and keep it in a place where constant visual monitoring can be accomplished.' there is no requirement to return to the gate if a note 7 is discovered on board as long as the passenger complies with instructions. The passenger would not identify themselves even after I made a PA.I notified dispatch as I could not determine if the phone was in the cabin or cargo. Dispatch told me to return to the gate to get the issue resolved. I also needed fuel after the delay back up to release fuel. I told the passengers we were returning to the gate to have the aircraft searched for the samsung phone. As I approached the gate; the number one called me and stated a passenger had turned in a samsung galaxy S7 phone. I met the chief pilot on the jet bridge with the passenger who turned the phone over to the chief pilot. The aircraft was refueled. The passenger was reseated saying he didn't know he had a banned phone; as it was a gift. The flight departed with a total 5+13 delay.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier Captain reported that a Flight Attendant identified a banned electronic device on board the aircraft after engine start. When the unit could not be located; the aircraft returned to the gate.

Narrative: After starting engines I got a call from the purser/number 1 that she believed she had an FAA banned Samsung Galaxy 7 phone on the flight. She said her phone was receiving a WIFI signal from the phone and showed me a picture. Ramp requested that we move off the ramp as we were blocking traffic. I requested that ground put us on another ramp which they said they didn't have. Ground kept moving us around the airfield. A couple of PAs were made by the number 1 requesting the person with the FAA banned device identify themselves by ringing their Flight Attendant (FA) call button. The flight attendants got no response. I read the pilot alert messages to the number 1 FA stating; 'if a NOTE 7 is discovered after gate departure the FAs will instruct the passenger to disconnect the device from any charging source; turn the device off; and keep it in a place where constant visual monitoring can be accomplished.' There is no requirement to return to the gate if a NOTE 7 is discovered on board as long as the passenger complies with instructions. The passenger would not identify themselves even after I made a PA.I notified dispatch as I could not determine if the phone was in the cabin or cargo. Dispatch told me to return to the gate to get the issue resolved. I also needed fuel after the delay back up to release fuel. I told the passengers we were returning to the gate to have the aircraft searched for the Samsung phone. As I approached the gate; the number one called me and stated a passenger had turned in a Samsung Galaxy S7 phone. I met the Chief Pilot on the jet bridge with the passenger who turned the phone over to the Chief Pilot. The aircraft was refueled. The passenger was reseated saying he didn't know he had a banned phone; as it was a gift. The flight departed with a total 5+13 delay.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.