64-bit iOS devices suffer from a problem that renders them unusable if the time and date settings are set to a specific point. You shouldn’t try this at home, or work, or anywhere else really – unless you fancy a trip to your local Apple Store.
The problem arises if you set the date to January 1, 1970, which will then prevent the phone from booting up again, until you make that trip to the store.It shouldn’t be permanently bricked, and while other people have reported success in booting their phone after a full drain of the battery, or waiting longer than five hours, there’s no guarantee that will get you working again.
Plenty of people can verify it ‘works’ – there’s really no need to test it out for yourself. If you do, and the battery drain trick (or removing the SIM card) doesn’t work, then you’ll need to head to an Apple Store for re-imaging of the handset.