diff --git a/css/style.css b/css/style.css
index d9001757b9..51e67380e8 100644
--- a/css/style.css
+++ b/css/style.css
@@ -190,6 +190,11 @@ a:hover {
     border-top: 1px solid #7d7d79;
     background-color: #bfbeb5;
 }
+    #status-bar .notify {
+        float: right;
+    }
+        #status-bar .notify span {
+        }
 
 /* tab specific sections */
 .tab-initial_setup {
diff --git a/js/main.js b/js/main.js
index 6329dfa119..a82e6fcfb0 100644
--- a/js/main.js
+++ b/js/main.js
@@ -82,4 +82,12 @@ $(document).ready(function() {
     });
     
     tab_initialize_default();
-});
\ No newline at end of file
+});
+
+function notify(message, color) {
+    $('span.notify').html('<span style="color: ' + color + '">' + message + '</span>');+
+    $('span.notify span').fadeOut(5000, function() {
+        $(this).remove();
+    });
+    
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/js/serial_backend.js b/js/serial_backend.js
index 5b3c3d0fa7..b0db0978ec 100644
--- a/js/serial_backend.js
+++ b/js/serial_backend.js
@@ -280,6 +280,7 @@ function onOpen(openInfo) {
         }, connection_delay * 1000);
     } else {
         console.log('Failed to open serial port');
+        notify('Failed to open serial port', 'red');
         
         $('div#port-picker a.connect').text('Connect');
         $('div#port-picker a.connect').removeClass('active'); 
@@ -302,6 +303,7 @@ function onClosed(result) {
     } else { // Something went wrong
         if (connectionId > 0) {
             console.log('There was an error that happened during "connection-close" procedure.');
+            notify('Failed to close serial port', 'red');
         }
     } 
 }
diff --git a/main.html b/main.html
index 831f7eaf0f..16323f5e65 100644
--- a/main.html
+++ b/main.html
@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@
                 Port utilization: <span class="port-usage">0%</span> | 
                 Firmware Version: <span class="software-version">0.00</span> |
                 Cycle Time: <span class="cycle-time">0</span>
+                <span class="notify"></span>
             </div>
         </div>
     </body>