diff --git a/INSTALL b/INSTALL
index 75c0cb0..33cdb27 100644
--- a/INSTALL
+++ b/INSTALL
@@ -123,29 +123,29 @@ Maven:
 <dependency>
 	<groupId>com.fazecast</groupId>
 	<artifactId>jSerialComm</artifactId>
-	<version>1.3.9</version>
+	<version>1.3.11</version>
 </dependency>
 
 Ivy:
 
-<dependency org="com.fazecast" name="jSerialComm" rev="1.3.9"/>
+<dependency org="com.fazecast" name="jSerialComm" rev="1.3.11"/>
 
 Groovy:
 
-@Grab(group='com.fazecast', module='jSerialComm', version='1.3.9')
+@Grab(group='com.fazecast', module='jSerialComm', version='1.3.11')
 
 Gradle:
 
-compile 'com.fazecast:jSerialComm:1.3.9'
+compile 'com.fazecast:jSerialComm:1.3.11'
 
 Buildr:
 
-compile.with 'com.fazecast:jSerialComm:jar:1.3.9'
+compile.with 'com.fazecast:jSerialComm:jar:1.3.11'
 
 Scala/SBT:
 
-libraryDependencies += "com.fazecast" % "jSerialComm" % "1.3.9"
+libraryDependencies += "com.fazecast" % "jSerialComm" % "1.3.11"
 
 Leiningen:
 
-[com.fazecast/jSerialComm "1.3.9"]
+[com.fazecast/jSerialComm "1.3.11"]
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fazecast/jSerialComm/SerialPort.java b/src/main/java/com/fazecast/jSerialComm/SerialPort.java
index 0a30c4f..be04217 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fazecast/jSerialComm/SerialPort.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fazecast/jSerialComm/SerialPort.java
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ import java.util.Date;
  * This class provides native access to serial ports and devices without requiring external libraries or tools.
  *
  * @author Will Hedgecock &lt;will.hedgecock@fazecast.com&gt;
- * @version 1.3.10
+ * @version 1.3.11
  * @see java.io.InputStream
  * @see java.io.OutputStream
  */
@@ -181,6 +181,13 @@ public final class SerialPort
 		System.load(tempFileName);
 		initializeLibrary();
 	}
+	
+	// Static symbolic link testing function
+	private static boolean isSymbolicLink(File file) throws IOException
+	{
+		File canonicalFile = (file.getParent() == null) ? file : new File(file.getParentFile().getCanonicalFile(), file.getName());
+		return !canonicalFile.getCanonicalFile().equals(canonicalFile.getAbsoluteFile());
+	}
 
 	/**
 	 * Returns a list of all available serial ports on this machine.
@@ -207,12 +214,29 @@ public final class SerialPort
 	static public SerialPort getCommPort(String portDescriptor)
 	{
 		// Correct port descriptor, if needed
-		if (isWindows)
-			portDescriptor = "\\\\.\\" + portDescriptor.substring(portDescriptor.lastIndexOf('\\')+1);
-		else if (portDescriptor.contains("/pts/"))
-			portDescriptor = "/dev/pts/" + portDescriptor.substring(portDescriptor.lastIndexOf('/')+1);
-		else if (!((new File(portDescriptor)).exists()))
-			portDescriptor = "/dev/" + portDescriptor.substring(portDescriptor.lastIndexOf('/')+1);
+		try
+		{
+			// Resolve home directory ~
+			if (portDescriptor.startsWith("~" + File.separator))
+				portDescriptor = System.getProperty("user.home") + portDescriptor.substring(1);
+			
+			// See what kind of descriptor was passed in
+			if (isWindows)
+				portDescriptor = "\\\\.\\" + portDescriptor.substring(portDescriptor.lastIndexOf('\\')+1);
+			else if (isSymbolicLink(new File(portDescriptor)))
+				portDescriptor = (new File(portDescriptor)).getCanonicalPath();
+			else if (portDescriptor.contains("/pts/"))
+				portDescriptor = "/dev/pts/" + portDescriptor.substring(portDescriptor.lastIndexOf('/')+1);
+			else if (!((new File(portDescriptor)).exists()))
+				portDescriptor = "/dev/" + portDescriptor.substring(portDescriptor.lastIndexOf('/')+1);
+		}
+		catch (Exception e)
+		{
+			SerialPort serialPort = new SerialPort();
+			serialPort.comPort = "/dev/null";
+			serialPort.portString = "Bad Port";
+			return serialPort;
+		}
 
 		// Create SerialPort object
 		SerialPort serialPort = new SerialPort();