Do notice that every device shows which port it occupies.

The next step is to display all COM ports in use.

To display them, open the Device Manager ( Win + R > devmgmt.msc > OK), and select View > Show Hidden Devices from the menu

By default, disconnected and unavailable devices are not shown in Device Manager.

You can manually delete the used COM port and reassign it for a new device. If Windows says the port you need is in use, these instructions won’t work. This will work only if the COM port you need to use is free.

A warning may appear stating that the selected COM port number is already assigned, but choosing “Yes” should not cause any issues.

Select a new COM port number from the COM Port Number drop-down list at the bottom of a new window.

In a new window, go to the Port Settings tab and press the Advanced button.

Find the device you need to reassign the COM port and right-click on it.

Locate the Ports section and expand it.

On your keyboard, press Win + R and enter the devmgmt.msc command.

For example, Windows assigned COM24 for your device, but you need COM9 or any other COM port. This will work only if you have a free COM port you need to reassign. You can quickly reassign the COM port using the built-in Device Manager. Reassign COM Ports Using the Device Managerįirst, let us go through the simplest method. The system restore point will help you to go back quickly and restore your system functionality. Having a backup gives you a path back in case something goes wrong. Before deleting COM ports in use, make sure to create a system restore point.

We will show how to use the Registry Editor to clear or reassign COM ports, but first, let us focus on more user-friendly ways to delete COM ports in use.Ĭaution. Windows stores COM ports assignments in the registry key called COM Name Arbiter.

Luckily, there are different apps with a decent UI you can use to work with COM ports on your computer. There are different methods on how to delete COM ports in use. In this article, we will show you how to do this. In such a scenario, you are forced to delete COM ports in use in Windows or reassign a used COM port to a different device.

For example, some adapters may reserve up to 30 or even more COM ports. Another issue may appear when some specific devices take too many ports. For example, such an app may work well with COM1 to 9, but fail if there are no free COM ports below COM10. Most of the time this is not a big deal or problem unless a user tries to run some legacy software that has trouble working with COM-ports higher than 9. Also, each port is assigned exclusively for one device and remains occupied (Windows shows it as “in use”) even if the device itself is not plugged in anymore. Every COM port has its number from 1 to 255.

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