diff --git a/packages/providers/src.ts/base-provider.ts b/packages/providers/src.ts/base-provider.ts
index 1e5f46de..d2dd2485 100644
--- a/packages/providers/src.ts/base-provider.ts
+++ b/packages/providers/src.ts/base-provider.ts
@@ -835,7 +835,10 @@ export class BaseProvider extends Provider {
         // If it is already an address, nothing to resolve
         try {
             return Promise.resolve(this.formatter.address(name));
-        } catch (error) { }
+        } catch (error) {
+            // If is is a hexstring, the address is bad (See #694)
+            if (isHexString(name)) { throw error; }
+        }
 
         // Get the addr from the resovler
         const resolverAddress = await this._getResolver(name);