diff --git a/libraries/AP_ESC_Telem/AP_ESC_Telem.cpp b/libraries/AP_ESC_Telem/AP_ESC_Telem.cpp
index 4cebfa68fe..48bd7ec475 100644
--- a/libraries/AP_ESC_Telem/AP_ESC_Telem.cpp
+++ b/libraries/AP_ESC_Telem/AP_ESC_Telem.cpp
@@ -76,8 +76,8 @@ uint8_t AP_ESC_Telem::get_motor_frequencies_hz(uint8_t nfreqs, float* freqs) con
 
 // get mask of ESCs that sent valid telemetry data in the last
 // ESC_TELEM_DATA_TIMEOUT_MS
-uint16_t AP_ESC_Telem::get_active_esc_mask() const {
-    uint16_t ret = 0;
+uint32_t AP_ESC_Telem::get_active_esc_mask() const {
+    uint32_t ret = 0;
     const uint32_t now = AP_HAL::millis();
     for (uint8_t i = 0; i < ESC_TELEM_MAX_ESCS; i++) {
         if (now - _telem_data[i].last_update_ms >= ESC_TELEM_DATA_TIMEOUT_MS) {
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ uint16_t AP_ESC_Telem::get_active_esc_mask() const {
 
 // return number of active ESCs present
 uint8_t AP_ESC_Telem::get_num_active_escs() const {
-    uint16_t active = get_active_esc_mask();
+    uint32_t active = get_active_esc_mask();
     return __builtin_popcount(active);
 }
 
diff --git a/libraries/AP_ESC_Telem/AP_ESC_Telem.h b/libraries/AP_ESC_Telem/AP_ESC_Telem.h
index 04726c1d0a..57037621d7 100644
--- a/libraries/AP_ESC_Telem/AP_ESC_Telem.h
+++ b/libraries/AP_ESC_Telem/AP_ESC_Telem.h
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ public:
 
     // get mask of ESCs that sent valid telemetry data in the last
     // ESC_TELEM_DATA_TIMEOUT_MS
-    uint16_t get_active_esc_mask() const;
+    uint32_t get_active_esc_mask() const;
 
     // return the last time telemetry data was received in ms for the given ESC or 0 if never
     uint32_t get_last_telem_data_ms(uint8_t esc_index) const {