diff --git a/rslib/src/scheduler/states/steps.rs b/rslib/src/scheduler/states/steps.rs
index 1c12ce621fd..82394f6516d 100644
--- a/rslib/src/scheduler/states/steps.rs
+++ b/rslib/src/scheduler/states/steps.rs
@@ -53,11 +53,11 @@ impl<'a> LearningSteps<'a> {
             let next = if self.steps.len() > 1 {
                 self.secs_at_index(idx + 1).unwrap_or(60)
             } else {
-                current * 2
+                current.saturating_mul(2)
             }
             .max(current);
 
-            Some((current + next) / 2)
+            Some(current.saturating_add(next) / 2)
         } else {
             None
         }
diff --git a/ts/deck-options/steps.ts b/ts/deck-options/steps.ts
index 3fd17f110d9..2a2916cf043 100644
--- a/ts/deck-options/steps.ts
+++ b/ts/deck-options/steps.ts
@@ -49,7 +49,9 @@ function stringToMinutes(text: string): number {
         const [_, num, suffix] = match;
         const unit = suffixToUnit(suffix);
         const seconds = unitSeconds(unit) * parseInt(num, 10);
-        return seconds / 60;
+        // should be representable as u32 seconds on the backend
+        const capped_seconds = Math.min(seconds, 2 ** 32 - 1);
+        return capped_seconds / 60;
     } else {
         return 0;
     }