Very strange ....

What Tori is saying is to unplug the wireless charging pad that is plugged into the gps tracker and plug it into your phone. It will then convert your phone into wireless charging if you purchase a standard wireless charging base which start at about £20 on eBay. That’s if your phone has a micro usb socket on the bottom .

There must be a wireless charging station built into the shelf in tescos to keep the fake packet charged up.
 
if you purchase a standard wireless charging base which start at about £20 on eBay.
Ah Ok thanks.
However I have a couple of charging leads at home, one in the van and one in the car.
well under 20 quid for the lot serves me well (y)
 
Cable connections wear out with constant use. There's a guy at work can't get his Samsung to charge unless he puts a pen under the USB plug.
 
I’ve just realised as well. They may track the packet of fags to your house via the gps tracker lol
 
Cable connections wear out with constant use. There's a guy at work can't get his Samsung to charge unless he puts a pen under the USB plug.
I've had the phone about 8 or 9 years. I'n not gonna cry if I need to replace the cables or indeed the phone, in the next few years :)
 
I’ve just realised as well. They may track the packet of fags to your house via the gps tracker lol
Yep, as mentioned, previously, I'm sitting here waiting for the SWAT team to make the first move :D
 
Cable connections wear out with constant use. There's a guy at work can't get his Samsung to charge unless he puts a pen under the USB plug.
There are also connections on the wireless charger and these can similarly wear out - unless they glean power from the ether. Looks like an answer looking for a problem.

Now if phones had some sort of gizmo that could use the magnetic field from any and every wiring loop then they would automatically charge. That would be useful; but not these overblown "look how clever I am" solutions that really solve little.
 
Interesting!

The left-hand packet clearly shows a standard retail EAN13 barcode.

The right hand packet has an overlay label with (as i recall correctly) EAN128 barcodes, such barcodes are not normally programmed into till scanners because they are for stock control and audit trail usage i.e. they contain much more data than simply ID and by 'back office database linkage" pricing reconciliation for the till to display the item price that the EAN13 is used for.

My surmise is that the cashier scanned the first pack and manually clicked 2 items on the till.

Was that overlabel under the cellophane wrap or outside?

As for the purpose of the enclosed technology.............stock tracking and fraud prevention come to mind, but for sure it should never have left the store and even possibly never been on display for retail sale with the normal packets. NB unless they had a planned "operation" in place though it is a puzzle because blindingly obvious to any crook that something was afoot once they open the package!!! That is why I think it is intended for bulk stock movements.

Edit ~ unrelated industry but with chilled and/or frozen food distribution they use temperature loggers in some of the trucks to ensure both quality of the product as well to detect mis handling that breaks the cool chain "security" that can affect health.
 
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Was that overlabel under the cellophane wrap or outside?
Under the cellophane, but thinking back, there was no "pull tab" on the cellophane like there normally is,
but its not the first time I've struggled with this "type" or wrapping"

but for sure it should never have left the store
I'm holding it to ransom Its tied to a chair with a mag-light shining in its face :D
 
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I suspect no one actually checks the units locations unless a store reports a robbery.

At a guess, staff pilferage is a much bigger problem (with tobacco related products especially) than full blown robbery (as opposed to shoplifting).

There are also connections on the wireless charger and these can similarly wear out

Wireless chargers usually stay plugged in all the time so wear on the connectors is negligible.
 
Its a targeting device for a Drone launched Hellfire missile.

Moderator wanted, all enquiries to Talk Photography
 
Having thought about it, perhaps it isn't an anti-theft device at all... Given how well cigarettes have to be hidden away from public view in shops these days, when somebody asks for a packet the staff probably need that tracker to be able to find the buggers! ;)
 
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Would it not be quicker to just return it to the store and speak to the manager? Not entirely sure what emailing the "ceo" (aka the pr team) is going to achieve unless we're looking for "compensation".
 
Given how well cigarettes have to be hidden away from public view in shops these days, when somebody asks for a packet the staff probably need that tracker to be able to find the buggers! ;)
Quite possibly :D

Its a CANCER tracker
Brilliant, I'll sell it to the NHS should make diagnoses faster (y)

The juvenile side of me would looking to draw pictures on local maps and then taking it for a ride...

http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/03/there...es-drawing-penises-with-gps-trackers-6549860/
That could work :D

OMG don't give him ideas, he's bad enough already :rolleyes::D
Always looking for new ideas (y)

Would it not be quicker to just return it to the store and speak to the manager? Not entirely sure what emailing the "ceo" (aka the pr team) is going to achieve unless we're looking for "compensation".
Its not my usual store and its quicker to email the CEO than to drive up there. (y)
I'm just interested to know why Tesco chose me to track.
I'm not into this litigation / compensation culture, its just a bit of fun really.
Although I have to say that I'd have p***ed off if I'd opened that second packet late at night when all the stores are shut.
 
Quite possibly :D


Brilliant, I'll sell it to the NHS should make diagnoses faster (y)


That could work :D


Always looking for new ideas (y)


Its not my usual store and its quicker to email the CEO than to drive up there. (y)
I'm just interested to know why Tesco chose me to track.
I'm not into this litigation / compensation culture, its just a bit of fun really.
Although I have to say that I'd have p***ed off if I'd opened that second packet late at night when all the stores are shut.

No need for paranoia, i don't think this was personal for the very reason you point out i.e. an individual recipient would quickly find it was not a packet of civvies.

If it is indeed a tobacco industry or Tesco tracker it is more likely to be used in situations where it would not be found too quickly by the "target".
 
Methink the Sale Of Goods Act could be invoked here as the ciggies are clearly 'not fit for purpose'!:D I can see a goodly compo claim here for inconvenience, stress, anxiety, time wasted on the forum posting about it not to mention our time in replying and surmising..... the list is endless!! :banana::beer:
 
It was a joke not paranoia

That's the trouble tryping ( ;) ) on a smartphone I forget to add smilies..........and as for predictive text saying the packet was full of civilians :banghead:
 
and as for predictive text saying the packet was full of civilians :banghead:
I did see that and wondered if I'd missed a joke somewhere :D
 
You do realise that thing was probably cheaper to buy than your fags. Definitely a GPRS tracker, I'll wait in suspense at what Tesco have to say or whether your door gets kicked in by Plod or HMRC
 
Hope you kept the receipt, Chris!!!
 
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Hope you kept the receipt, Chris!!!

Good point!

PS as I recall the Cool Chain 'trackers' had returned addresses on them plus a declaration of who they belonged to. This cigarette package tracker(?) IMO should have had the same.......i.e. an innocent party finding it would be recognised/rewarded for its return but a miscreant would care squat and potentially know what it was & then try to circumvent it's purpose?
 
cheaper to buy than your fags.
Damn! there goes my "holding it to ransom" idea :D

or whether your door gets kicked in by Plod or HMRC
So far so good ...............................
:D

Hope you kept the receipt, Chris!!!
Strangely I did, normally for something like that I wouldn't bother, but I found it in the bottom of the bag :)

This cigarette package tracker(?) IMO should have had the same.......
I have looked but couldn't see anything like that.

Just remember to cut the red wire if it starts ticking :police:
There is no red wire :(
 
So far I've had this ...
Looking in to it? Does it mean, they don't know either?
:D

Dear Chris

Thank you for taking the time to write to Dave.

We are looking into your email and will be in touch soon.

Group Chief Executive’s Office
 
Next email. ...

"We have looked into this thoroughly. We have conducted an in depth review. We cannot accept that this item was ever in our stores and conclude that packets must have been swapped around sometime subsequent to your purchases.

We regret we cannot help you in any way but if you would like to drop the item off next time you are in one of our stores we will examine this further."

Or, as you and I might put it....we admit nothing and won't be paying compensation. Now give us our toy back:(
 
Let's hope it's not a Russian spy unit, they could be tracking you right now :D
 
.we admit nothing and won't be paying compensation. Now give us our toy back:(
Sounds like a Russian spy (unit) to me :D
They're listening in to you right now...
tin-foil-hat-2-gif.122946
Let's hope it's not a Russian spy unit, they could be tracking you right now :D
As above :D

Well that'll serve em right, its bad enough reading what he writes, having to listen to him would absolutely end me
You could always put me on ignore ......
.... Oh wait a minute, you can't can you? :p
 
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