Source: Lego.com -Bricking Bad is a Lego set and has nothing to do with this article. :P
describes an electronic device such as a smart phone, game console, router, or tablet computer that, due to a serious mis-configuration, corrupted firmware, or a hardware problem, can no longer function.
Many people use the term “bricking” incorrectly and refer to a device that isn't working properly as “bricked.” If you can easily recover the device through a software process, it’s technically not “bricked.” A bricked device cannot be fixed through normal means. For example, if Windows won’t boot on your computer, your computer isn't “bricked” because you can still install another operating system on it. However, if you tried to power your computer on and it didn't work properly at all, making it impossible to install an operating system, you could consider the computer bricked.
Here we are to give you just knowledge about bricking you want to know.
How to use the word "Brick": Lets us the following examples-
- The device is stuck in a Boot loop or whatever software problem that can be fixed. :- No, its not Bricked and is recoverable (generally called Soft brick)
- When the has been smashed or physically damaged (eg. water damage):- I simply call the device is "broken", though it may be not recoverable.
- When you mess with the Firmware or something and it won't turn on but because of software damage, not Hardware. :- This is Bricking (also called Hard brick).
Problems mistaken for Bricking on Android and how to fix them:-
- If the device keeps rebooting:- Wipe your Data and Cache
- If the device boots straight into recovery:- Flash a new ROM
- If the device boots straight into bootloader:- Restore from a stock ROM
- If you get errors for all the methods above:- Reformat your SD card. It's very important that you format it through an SD card reader directly and not by plugging in your phone in USB mode.
Keep in mind, if your device turns on, there's still a good chance you can recover from whatever error you're experiencing, so don't give up just yet!
If all the above methods fail and you are sure your phone is actually bricked—that is, it won't turn on at all, no matter how hard you try—it's time to give up and move on. The first thing you can do in this situation is try to take it back to your carrier's store and play dumb—just say something like "I don't know what happened, but my phone won't turn on anymore" (don't tell them you rooted it, obviously). Most carriers don't have time to deal with such issues and they'll just give you a new phone.
