diff --git a/contact/utilities/interfaces.py b/contact/utilities/interfaces.py
index d568de6..e51dcfc 100644
--- a/contact/utilities/interfaces.py
+++ b/contact/utilities/interfaces.py
@@ -4,20 +4,39 @@ import contact.globals as globals
 
 def initialize_interface(args):
     try:
+
         if args.ble:
             return meshtastic.ble_interface.BLEInterface(args.ble if args.ble != "any" else None)
+        
         elif args.host:
-            return meshtastic.tcp_interface.TCPInterface(args.host)
+            try:
+                if ":" in args.host:
+                    tcp_hostname, tcp_port = args.host.split(':')
+                else:
+                    tcp_hostname = args.host
+                    tcp_port = meshtastic.tcp_interface.DEFAULT_TCP_PORT
+                return meshtastic.tcp_interface.TCPInterface(tcp_hostname, portNumber=tcp_port)
+            except Exception as ex:
+                logging.error(f"Error connecting to {args.host}:{tcp_port}. {ex}")
         else:
             try:
-                return meshtastic.serial_interface.SerialInterface(args.port)
+                client = meshtastic.serial_interface.SerialInterface(args.port)
+            except FileNotFoundError as ex:
+                logging.error(f"The serial device at '{args.port}' was not found. {ex}")
             except PermissionError as ex:
                 logging.error(f"You probably need to add yourself to the `dialout` group to use a serial connection. {ex}")
             except Exception as ex:
                 logging.error(f"Unexpected error initializing interface: {ex}")
-            if globals.interface.devPath is None:
-                return meshtastic.tcp_interface.TCPInterface("localhost")
-    
+            except OSError as ex:
+                logging.error(f"The serial device couldn't be opened, it might be in use by another process. {ex}")
+            if client.devPath is None:
+                try:
+                    client = meshtastic.tcp_interface.TCPInterface("localhost")
+                except Exception as ex:
+                    logging.error(f"Error connecting to localhost:{ex}")
+
+            return client
+        
     except Exception as ex:
         logging.critical(f"Fatal error initializing interface: {ex}")
     
\ No newline at end of file