Kill switch proposed for stolen smartphone

Samsung has proposed making smartphones with a kill switch to combat mobile phone theft which is rampant in the US.

Samsung Electronics has proposed making smartphones with a kill switch to combat mobile phone theft. (AAP)

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, has proposed making a "kill switch" that would render stolen or lost phones inoperable a standard feature, but other carriers have rejected the idea.

San Francisco's top prosecutor District Attorney George Gascon says AT&T, Verizon Wireless, US Cellular, Sprint and T-Mobile rebuffed Samsung's proposal to preload its phones with Absolute LoJack anti-theft software.

Gascon, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and other officials are demanding that manufacturers create kill switches to combat surging smartphone theft across the country.

But the wireless industry says kill switches aren't the answer because a hacker could potentially disable people's phones.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, almost one in three US robberies involve mobile phone theft.