diff --git a/utils/serial/src/serial/unix.cpp b/utils/serial/src/serial/unix.cpp
index d65eab54..867f9db9 100644
--- a/utils/serial/src/serial/unix.cpp
+++ b/utils/serial/src/serial/unix.cpp
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@
 
 uint32_t DPSerial::getAvailableByteCount(FILEHANDLE s_handle)
 {
+    if (!s_handle)
+        return 0;
+
     uint32_t available = 0;
     if (ioctl(fileno(s_handle), FIONREAD, &available) < 0)
     {
@@ -15,11 +18,15 @@ uint32_t DPSerial::getAvailableByteCount(FILEHANDLE s_handle)
 
 void DPSerial::tearDown()
 {
-    fclose(s_handle);
+    if (s_handle)
+        fclose(s_handle);
 }
 
-bool DPSerial::readBytesFromSerial(void* target, uint32_t length)
+bool DPSerial::readBytesFromSerial(void *target, uint32_t length)
 {
+    if (!s_handle)
+        return false;
+
     const uint32_t result = fread(target, 1, length, s_handle);
     const bool valid = result == length;
     if (!valid)
@@ -40,9 +47,10 @@ bool DPSerial::readBytesFromSerial(void* target, uint32_t length)
     return valid;
 }
 
-void DPSerial::write(const uint8_t* const data, const uint32_t length)
+void DPSerial::write(const uint8_t *const data, const uint32_t length)
 {
-    ::write(fileno(s_handle), data, length);
+    if (s_handle)
+        ::write(fileno(s_handle), data, length);
 }
 
 bool DPSerial::setup(std::string path)
diff --git a/utils/serial/src/serial/win.cpp b/utils/serial/src/serial/win.cpp
index ed63bd1e..3277a410 100644
--- a/utils/serial/src/serial/win.cpp
+++ b/utils/serial/src/serial/win.cpp
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 uint32_t DPSerial::getAvailableByteCount(FILEHANDLE s_handle)
 {
+    if (!s_handle)
+        return 0;
     DWORD commerr;
     COMSTAT comstat;
     if (!ClearCommError(s_handle, &commerr, &comstat))
@@ -13,20 +15,27 @@ uint32_t DPSerial::getAvailableByteCount(FILEHANDLE s_handle)
 
 void DPSerial::tearDown()
 {
-    CloseHandle(s_handle);
+    if (s_handle)
+        CloseHandle(s_handle);
 }
 
-bool DPSerial::readBytesFromSerial(void* target, uint32_t length)
+bool DPSerial::readBytesFromSerial(void *target, uint32_t length)
 {
+    if (!s_handle)
+        return false;
+
     DWORD bytesRead;
     ReadFile(s_handle, target, length, &bytesRead, NULL);
     return bytesRead == length;
 }
 
-void DPSerial::write(const uint8_t* const data, const uint32_t length)
+void DPSerial::write(const uint8_t *const data, const uint32_t length)
 {
-    DWORD bytesWritten = 0;
-    WriteFile(s_handle, data, length, &bytesWritten, NULL);
+    if (s_handle)
+    {
+        DWORD bytesWritten = 0;
+        WriteFile(s_handle, data, length, &bytesWritten, NULL);
+    }
 }
 
 bool DPSerial::setup(std::string path)