You Can Allegedly Now Brick Your Nikes, Thanks to the Miracle of Technology

According to CNET, users have reported that the Android app for Nike Adapt BB shoes (though not the iOS version) is experiencing serious technical glitches following a recent firmware update. Reviews posted to the app’s download page say that it continually fails to connect to one shoe or the other, as well as that the firmware update appears to have “bricked” the shoes. In some cases they can be manually reset through an annoying process, though the Verge reported that some users have said the shoe’s motors stopped functioning entirely no matter what they did.

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CNET helpfully noted that the shoes continue to be shoes, regardless of whether the app works, and that buttons on the side continue to function:

You’re still able to wear the sneakers and walk around in them, but all the smart features from the app stopped working with the update, frustrated users said.

“The first software update for the shoe threw an error while updating, bricking the right shoe,” Asa Domolky, a reviewer, wrote on the app.

… Usually bricking tend to render devices completely useless, at least the Adapt BB just turns into a regular pair of sneakers. You’re also still able to control the fit through the buttons on the side.