I live in a third world country where power outages are kind of common. Recently i was performing a system update on my Wii U and half way through downloading the update the power went out. It gave me a scare and I began to worry because in my country there is no technical support for Nintendo products so I might practically have to send it back to USA with someone i know to send it to fix if it did brick. When the power came back and i switched back on the console it was working perfectly. It took me back to the menu to select my Mii character. I think the system only bricks when INSTALLING the update not while DOWNLOADING it.

Yeah, that happens when we live in those kinda countries. Good to know. Been skeptical about updates since the Wii, but when that happens at that specific moment it's just luck xD

LOL i almost had a temper tantrum. I dont like spending money on something and barely getting any use out of it. Its kind of good news to know the console does not brick while downloading the update though its the installation process that bricks it, it seems.

It could also be a thing of chance. 

Had a friend whose power went out during installation.

Booted up just fine, just had to reinstall (it was almost finished before the power went out).

Would be nice if the Wii U had a recovery mode. However, I'm guessing that would just make it much easier to hack...

Glad your WiiU is OK. I'm pretty scared of this myself x_x

Hopefully, by the time I get one the update will come pre-installed.

Nintendo said the updates will be pre-installed by next spring.

Thanks for the info. Hopefully Pikmin 3 will be released by then.

It really shouldn't brick while downloading unless it's installing in segments at the same time, and then only at certain points. It just all depends on what files are being updated when the power goes out, most likely. Most of the time it should be fine but there is always the chance that you'll lose power at the worst possible moment. Kind of scary.