diff --git a/meshtastic/serial_interface.py b/meshtastic/serial_interface.py
index ce19a3b2..3ecc560d 100644
--- a/meshtastic/serial_interface.py
+++ b/meshtastic/serial_interface.py
@@ -24,21 +24,17 @@ def __init__(self, devPath=None, debugOut=None, noProto=False, connectNow=True):
         """
         self.noProto = noProto
 
-        self.devPath = None
+        self.devPath = devPath
 
-        if devPath is None:
-            ports = meshtastic.util.findPorts()
+        if self.devPath is None:
+            ports = meshtastic.util.findPorts(True)
             logging.debug(f"ports:{ports}")
             if len(ports) == 0:
                 meshtastic.util.our_exit("Warning: No Meshtastic devices detected.")
             elif len(ports) > 1:
-                tmp_ports = meshtastic.util.eliminate_duplicate_port(ports)
-                if len(tmp_ports) != 1:
-                    message = "Warning: Multiple serial ports were detected so one serial port must be specified with the '--port'.\n"
-                    message += f"  Ports detected:{ports}"
-                    meshtastic.util.our_exit(message)
-                else:
-                    self.devPath = tmp_ports[0]
+                message = "Warning: Multiple serial ports were detected so one serial port must be specified with the '--port'.\n"
+                message += f"  Ports detected:{ports}"
+                meshtastic.util.our_exit(message)
             else:
                 self.devPath = ports[0]
 
diff --git a/meshtastic/test.py b/meshtastic/test.py
index c41ee60f..295496fa 100644
--- a/meshtastic/test.py
+++ b/meshtastic/test.py
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ def testAll(numTests=5):
     This is called from the cli with the "--test" option.
 
     """
-    ports = meshtastic.util.findPorts()
+    ports = meshtastic.util.findPorts(True)
     if len(ports) < 2:
         meshtastic.util.our_exit("Warning: Must have at least two devices connected to USB.")
 
diff --git a/meshtastic/tests/test_smoke1.py b/meshtastic/tests/test_smoke1.py
index fee82240..7f58dc12 100644
--- a/meshtastic/tests/test_smoke1.py
+++ b/meshtastic/tests/test_smoke1.py
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ def test_smoke1_send_hello():
 def test_smoke1_port():
     """Test --port"""
     # first, get the ports
-    ports = findPorts()
+    ports = findPorts(True)
     # hopefully there is just one
     assert len(ports) == 1
     port = ports[0]
diff --git a/meshtastic/tests/test_util.py b/meshtastic/tests/test_util.py
index 399959c2..548efee5 100644
--- a/meshtastic/tests/test_util.py
+++ b/meshtastic/tests/test_util.py
@@ -248,6 +248,38 @@ def test_findPorts_when_none_found(patch_comports):
     patch_comports.assert_called()
 
 
+@pytest.mark.unitslow
+@patch('serial.tools.list_ports.comports')
+def test_findPorts_when_duplicate_found_and_duplicate_option_used(patch_comports):
+    """Test findPorts()"""
+    class TempPort:
+        """ temp class for port"""
+        def __init__(self, device=None, vid=None):
+            self.device = device
+            self.vid = vid
+    fake1 = TempPort('/dev/cu.usbserial-1430', vid='fake1')
+    fake2 = TempPort('/dev/cu.wchusbserial1430', vid='fake2')
+    patch_comports.return_value = [fake1, fake2]
+    assert findPorts(eliminate_duplicates=True) == ['/dev/cu.wchusbserial1430']
+    patch_comports.assert_called()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.unitslow
+@patch('serial.tools.list_ports.comports')
+def test_findPorts_when_duplicate_found_and_duplicate_option_not_used(patch_comports):
+    """Test findPorts()"""
+    class TempPort:
+        """ temp class for port"""
+        def __init__(self, device=None, vid=None):
+            self.device = device
+            self.vid = vid
+    fake1 = TempPort('/dev/cu.usbserial-1430', vid='fake1')
+    fake2 = TempPort('/dev/cu.wchusbserial1430', vid='fake2')
+    patch_comports.return_value = [fake1, fake2]
+    assert findPorts() == ['/dev/cu.usbserial-1430', '/dev/cu.wchusbserial1430']
+    patch_comports.assert_called()
+
+
 @pytest.mark.unitslow
 def test_convert_mac_addr():
     """Test convert_mac_addr()"""
diff --git a/meshtastic/util.py b/meshtastic/util.py
index e3d8a28f..19316210 100644
--- a/meshtastic/util.py
+++ b/meshtastic/util.py
@@ -113,8 +113,9 @@ def catchAndIgnore(reason, closure):
         logging.error(f"Exception thrown in {reason}: {ex}")
 
 
-def findPorts():
+def findPorts(eliminate_duplicates=False):
     """Find all ports that might have meshtastic devices
+       eliminate_duplicates will run the eliminate_duplicate_port() on the collection
 
     Returns:
         list -- a list of device paths
@@ -123,6 +124,8 @@ def findPorts():
                  filter(lambda port: port.vid is not None and port.vid not in blacklistVids,
                         serial.tools.list_ports.comports())))
     l.sort()
+    if eliminate_duplicates:
+        l = eliminate_duplicate_port(l)
     return l
 
 
@@ -421,7 +424,6 @@ def is_windows11():
     if platform.system() == "Windows":
         if float(platform.release()) >= 10.0:
             patch = platform.version().split('.')[2]
-            print(f'patch:{patch}')
             # in case they add some number suffix later, just get first 5 chars of patch
             patch = patch[:5]
             try:
@@ -429,5 +431,4 @@ def is_windows11():
                     is_win11 = True
             except Exception as e:
                 print(f'problem detecting win11 e:{e}')
-    print(f'is_win11:{is_win11}')
     return is_win11