diff --git a/macosx/Torrent.mm b/macosx/Torrent.mm
index c8bcef3ba..ce1576079 100644
--- a/macosx/Torrent.mm
+++ b/macosx/Torrent.mm
@@ -2068,20 +2068,16 @@ bool trashDataFile(char const* filename, void* /*user_data*/, tr_error** error)
 
 - (NSString*)etaString
 {
-    NSInteger eta;
-    BOOL fromIdle;
-    //don't check for both, since if there's a regular ETA, the torrent isn't idle so it's meaningless
-    if (self.fStat->eta != TR_ETA_NOT_AVAIL && self.fStat->eta != TR_ETA_UNKNOWN)
-    {
-        eta = self.fStat->eta;
-        fromIdle = NO;
-    }
-    else if (self.fStat->etaIdle != TR_ETA_NOT_AVAIL && self.fStat->etaIdle < kETAIdleDisplaySec)
+    time_t eta = self.fStat->eta;
+    // if there's a regular ETA, the torrent isn't idle
+    BOOL fromIdle = NO;
+    if (eta == TR_ETA_NOT_AVAIL || eta == TR_ETA_UNKNOWN)
     {
         eta = self.fStat->etaIdle;
         fromIdle = YES;
     }
-    else
+    // Foundation undocumented behavior: values above INT_MAX (68 years) are interpreted as negative values by `stringFromTimeInterval` (#3451)
+    if (eta < 0 || eta > INT_MAX || (fromIdle && eta >= kETAIdleDisplaySec))
     {
         return NSLocalizedString(@"remaining time unknown", "Torrent -> eta string");
     }
@@ -2095,6 +2091,8 @@ bool trashDataFile(char const* filename, void* /*user_data*/, tr_error** error)
         formatter.collapsesLargestUnit = YES;
         formatter.includesTimeRemainingPhrase = YES;
     });
+    // the duration of months being variable, setting the reference date to now (instead of 00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 2001)
+    formatter.referenceDate = NSDate.date;
     NSString* idleString = [formatter stringFromTimeInterval:eta];
 
     if (fromIdle)