Do not set back your date to January 1, 1970

[J. A.]

There's a bug that appeared on iPads and iPhones recently, and it seems that some people try to take advantage of it to brick iDevices.
If you set back your date to January 1, 1970, and then restart it, this will make it impossible to use it again. The only solution would be to take it to the next Apple store, or get a new one.

For more information, see here:
FALSE: Apple's Blast from the Past

 

[Brian 244]

Disconnecting the battery and reconnecting will resolve the issue. This of course involves disassembly and will be easier in some devices more so than others.

 

[skimonkey]

Thanks JA--very good info to share with our members! A little scary that something so simple like that could create such a disaster to a device! Yikes!

 

[scifan57]

At least it's something you could never do by accident.

 

[J. A.]

Latest information:
Not only disconnecting the battery, DFU mode could help as well:
I set my iOS device to January 1, 1970... | Apple Support Communities