diff --git a/include/sync/sync.h b/include/sync/sync.h
index f015fa1..918acf6 100644
--- a/include/sync/sync.h
+++ b/include/sync/sync.h
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
 };
 
 /* timeout in msecs */
-int sync_wait(int fd, unsigned int timeout);
+int sync_wait(int fd, int timeout);
 int sync_merge(const char *name, int fd1, int fd2);
 struct sync_fence_info_data *sync_fence_info(int fd);
 struct sync_pt_info *sync_pt_info(struct sync_fence_info_data *info,
diff --git a/libsync/sync.c b/libsync/sync.c
index c20f15e..4892866 100644
--- a/libsync/sync.c
+++ b/libsync/sync.c
@@ -27,9 +27,9 @@
 #include <sys/stat.h>
 #include <sys/types.h>
 
-int sync_wait(int fd, unsigned int timeout)
+int sync_wait(int fd, int timeout)
 {
-    __u32 to = timeout;
+    __s32 to = timeout;
 
     return ioctl(fd, SYNC_IOC_WAIT, &to);
 }