diff --git a/packages/providers/src.ts/base-provider.ts b/packages/providers/src.ts/base-provider.ts
index 3d34c4e3db..e352a4536e 100644
--- a/packages/providers/src.ts/base-provider.ts
+++ b/packages/providers/src.ts/base-provider.ts
@@ -1747,6 +1747,7 @@ export class BaseProvider extends Provider implements EnsProvider {
         } else {
             // ENS name; forward lookup
             resolver = await this.getResolver(nameOrAddress);
+            if (!resolver) { return null; }
         }
 
         const avatar = await resolver.getAvatar();