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Lawmakers in San Francisco and New York are pushing cellphone makers to adopt a so-called kill switch that would allow users to deactivate their phone remotely, discouraging criminals from stealing phones. But the cellphone carriers are not on board.

San Francisco’s district attorney, George Gascón, said he had been working on an agreement with Samsung Electronics to include antitheft software with all its phones sold in the United States. Preloading the software on Samsung’s phones would require approval from the carriers that service the phones. The carriers, including AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint, rejected the idea, he said.

Mr. Gascón said that, based on e-mails he had reviewed between a Samsung executive and a software developer, it appeared that the carriers were unwilling to allow Samsung to load the antitheft software. The emails, he said, suggest that the carriers are concerned that the software would eat into the profit they make from the insurance programs many consumers buy to cover lost or stolen phones.

“Corporate profits cannot be allowed to guide decisions that have life-or-death consequences,” Mr. Gascón said. “This solution has the potential to safeguard Samsung customers, but these emails suggest the carriers rejected it so they can continue to make money hand over fist on insurance premiums.”

The cellphone market is hugely lucrative, with sales of handsets bringing in $69 billion in the United States last year, according to IDC, a research firm. But thefts of smartphones continue to rise. Thefts of Apple devices have become so widespread that the police have nicknamed it “Apple picking.” Mr. Gascón collaborated with Eric T. Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general, to form the Secure Our Smartphones coalition to press businesses to solve the problem technologically.

But the carriers don’t think a so-called kill switch is the right way to go. In June, CTIA, the industry trade group that represents the carriers, said in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission that “a kill switch isn’t the answer.”

CTIA said that a kill switch would pose risks, because hackers who took control of the feature could disable phones for customers, including the phones used by officials in the Department of Defense and law enforcement.

The trade group added that if a phone were deactivated and the customer later retrieved it, he or she could not reactivate it. That claim is not true in the case of Apple’s new antitheft feature, Activation Lock, which allows a customer to disable a phone that has been lost, and, after it has been found, reactivate it with the correct username and password.

In response to Mr. Gascón’s claims, Jamie Hastings, vice president of external and state affairs for CTIA, said that the wireless industry had worked with law enforcement officials on a solution to deter phone theft: a nationwide database that was meant to deactivate cellphones phones that have been reported stolen.

But several police officials have said that the stolen-cellphone database has been ineffective in deterring crime because many of the stolen phones end up overseas, out of the blacklist’s reach. Ms. Hastings said that when more carriers participate in the database worldwide, criminals will have fewer outlets to sell stolen phones.

CTIA also said it supported legislation by Senator Charles E. Schumer, a Democrat from New York, which proposed to make it a federal crime to modify cellphones to circumvent the stolen-cellphone database.

“When everyone – from the wireless companies, law enforcement, policy makers and consumers – work together, we will make a difference,” Ms. Hastings said.

Mr. Gascón said he is evaluating what action to take regarding the carriers’ refusal to allow Samsung to pre-load a kill switch on its phones. “We have repeatedly requested that the carriers take steps to protect their customers. We are now evaluating what course of action will be necessary to force them to prioritize the safety of their customers over additional money in their pockets,” he said.

Samsung confirmed that it was working with Mr. Gascón and the carriers on an antitheft solution, but declined to comment on the e-mails he referred to. “Samsung takes the issue of smartphone theft very seriously, and we are continuing to enhance our solutions,” said Jessica Redman, a Samsung spokeswoman. “We are working with the leaders of the Secure Our Smartphones (S.O.S.) Initiative to incorporate the perspective of law enforcement agencies. We will continue to work with them and our wireless carrier partners towards our common goal of stopping smartphone theft.”