Bricking

Bricking refers to the act of rendering an electronic device inoperable ("as useless as a brick").

Description
A device can be "bricked" by physical or moisture damage, but it typically refers to a problem caused by a firmware or operating system software configuration error that is not easily solved by the user. This can often occur during a botched or interrupted software update. Bricking can also be caused by malware. An owner of a stolen Apple device can remotely disable or erase it through the Find My feature.

In the hands of experienced tech support personnel, such as the Genius Bar of an Apple retail store, it is possible to "unbrick" a device.