Netgear and Arris Face Class Actions for Defective Cable Modems

Consumers today announced the filing of class action lawsuits against Arris International plc and NETGEAR, Inc., claiming that the companies sells cable modems containing a serious defect that results in high spikes in network latency, degrading users’ Internet connections. Contact us to learn more about your legal rights.

The lawsuits, filed on March 31, 2017 and April 14, 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, allege that consumers who purchased Arris’s SURFboard SB6190 and Netgear's CM700 modems—which promised consumers reliable connections to the Internet—experience severe network latency spikes. Hundreds of users have complained in online forums, and Arris itself has even acknowledged the issue. Arris and Netgear, however, have failed to fix the problem for cable modem purchasers.

“Consumers paid top dollar for a high-end cable modem, but even Arris and Intel now acknowledges that these modems suffer from a serious flaw,” said Noah Schubert, a partner at Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe, “Arris, Netgear, and other cable modem manufacturers shipping modems with the defect should recall the affected models and issue refunds.”

According to the lawsuits, the root of the problem is the cable modem manufacturers' decision to swap out the Broadcom chipset in their modems with the Puma 6 chipset from Intel Corporation. Arris told online technology websites that the problem stems from Intel’s Puma 6’s chipset, which causes cable modems to suffer from significant jitter and latency on their network connections. Reports on multiple websites and forums indicate that these cable modems suffer from "latency jitter so bad it ruins online gaming and other real-time connections." Intel has also confirmed the defect, stating that the company is "aware of an issue with the Puma 6 system-on-chip software that impacts latency," but after numerous months, it has failed to release any update that fixes the issue.

According to The Register, "The problem appears to be that the x86 CPU in the modem is taking on too much work while processing network packets. Every couple of seconds or so, a high-priority maintenance task runs and it winds up momentarily hogging the processor, causing latency to increase by at least 200ms and, over time, about six per cent of packets to be dropped. It affects IPv4 and IPv6 – and it spoils internet gaming and other online real-time interaction that need fast response times."

Even users who do simple web browsing may be affected by the momentary high spikes in latency, causing websites to feel sluggish or not load.

We are actively investigating whether other cable modems containing the Puma 6 chipset, including modems from Linksys, Cisco, and Hitron, also suffer from the same severe network latency defect. Cable modems containing Intel's Puma 6 chipset that may be affected include:

• Arris SB6190
• Arris TG1672G
• Arris TM1602
• Super Hub 3 (Arris TG2492LG)  (commonly, Virgin Media)
• Hitron CGN3 / CDA / CGNV series modems:
• Hitron CDA-32372
• Hitron CDE-32372
• Hitron CDA3-35
• Hitron CGNV4
• Hitron CGNM-3552 (commonly, Rogers)
• Hitron CGN3 (eg CGN3-ACSMR)
• Hitron CGNM-2250 (commonly, Shaw)
• Linksys CM3024
• Linksys CM3016
• TP-Link CR7000
• Netgear AC1750 C6300 AC1900
• Netgear CM700
• Telstra Gateway Max (Netgear AC1900 / C6300) (Australia)
• Cisco DPC3848V
• Cisco DPC3941B / DPC3941T  (commonly, Comcast Xfinity XB3)
• Cisco DPC3939
• Compal CH7465-LG / Arris TG2492LG (commonly, Virgin Media Hub 3)
• Samsung Home Media Server

Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP is investigating whether these modems are defective. If purchasers received a faulty modem with a serious defect, they may be entitled to a refund of their purchase price.

If you purchased one of the modems above and would like to help us investigate this issue—or would like to participate in a potential class-action lawsuit—please complete the form below for a free legal consultation.