Can a firmware update destroy a motherboard?

[Willem de Lange]

I recently updated the firmware on my Note 2 from Jellybean to KitKat. It needs to be noted that the firmware comes with a lot of extra apps and add-ons (start-up animations etc.) from the service provider. After I updated, the phone started up, worked fine, and a couple of minutes later just died. I can't even get the boot menu going by pressing the volume, home and power keys, nothing. I took it in for repairs, and I am now told that the motherboard is stuffed.

Is this even possible, that a firmware update can ruin a motherboard? Could it be that the service provider's add ons could have effected this?

:'(

 

[SpookDroid]

If the software is badly coded, it is, in theory, possible that a bad update could damage the motherboard. But it would have to be something monumentally screwed up, like a line of code that makes the processor run wild and hot for hours or making it overload a driver.