diff --git a/src/private.js b/src/private.js
index 93ee1ab0..6da70c35 100644
--- a/src/private.js
+++ b/src/private.js
@@ -563,7 +563,7 @@ module.exports = (dht) => ({
         promiseToCallback(query.run(peers))(cb)
       }, providerTimeout)(callback))()
     } catch (err) {
-      if (err.code !== 'ETIMEDOUT' || out.length === 0) {
+      if (err.code !== 'ETIMEDOUT') {
         throw err
       }
     } finally {
@@ -577,6 +577,10 @@ module.exports = (dht) => ({
       })
     })
 
+    if (out.length === 0) {
+      throw errcode(new Error('no providers found'), 'ERR_NOT_FOUND')
+    }
+
     return out.toArray()
   },