A system and method functions to automatically determine a capability of a consumer electronic device and capabilities of ports of an appliance to which the consumer electronic device is connected. The system and method further detects a port of the appliance to which a consumer electronic device is connected. When it is determined that the consumer electronic device is not connected to a port of the appliance that best supports the determined capability of the consumer electronic device, the system and method will automatically provide a user with instructions, e.g., via use of a speaker and/or a display, by which the user can reconnect the consumer electronic device to another port of the appliance having a determined capability that is better suited to the determined capability of the consumer electronic device.