diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/DeathWatchSpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/DeathWatchSpec.scala
index e7ce5a59a2..7c676c4ec0 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/DeathWatchSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/DeathWatchSpec.scala
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ trait DeathWatchSpec { this: AkkaSpec with ImplicitSender with DefaultTimeout 
     "fail a monitor which does not handle Terminated()" in {
       filterEvents(EventFilter[ActorKilledException](), EventFilter[DeathPactException]()) {
         case class FF(fail: Failed)
-        val strategy = new OneForOneStrategy(maxNrOfRetries = 0)(SupervisorStrategy.makeDecider(List(classOf[Exception]))) {
+        val strategy = new OneForOneStrategy()(SupervisorStrategy.defaultStrategy.decider) {
           override def handleFailure(context: ActorContext, child: ActorRef, cause: Throwable, stats: ChildRestartStats, children: Iterable[ChildRestartStats]) = {
             testActor.tell(FF(Failed(child, cause, 0)), child)
             super.handleFailure(context, child, cause, stats, children)
@@ -183,6 +183,43 @@ trait DeathWatchSpec { this: AkkaSpec with ImplicitSender with DefaultTimeout 
       // the testActor is not watching subject and will not receive a Terminated msg
       expectNoMsg
     }
+
+    "discard Terminated when unwatched between sysmsg and processing" in {
+      case class W(ref: ActorRef)
+      case class U(ref: ActorRef)
+      class Watcher extends Actor {
+        def receive = {
+          case W(ref) ⇒ context watch ref
+          case U(ref) ⇒ context unwatch ref
+          case (t1: TestLatch, t2: TestLatch) ⇒
+            t1.countDown()
+            Await.ready(t2, 3.seconds)
+        }
+      }
+
+      val t1, t2 = TestLatch()
+      val w = system.actorOf(Props(new Watcher), "myDearWatcher")
+      val p = TestProbe()
+      w ! W(p.ref)
+      w ! ((t1, t2))
+      Await.ready(t1, 3.seconds)
+      watch(p.ref)
+      system stop p.ref
+      expectTerminated(p.ref)
+      w ! U(p.ref)
+      t2.countDown()
+      /*
+       * now the Watcher will
+       * - process the DeathWatchNotification and enqueue Terminated
+       * - process the unwatch command
+       * - process the Terminated
+       * If it receives the Terminated it will die, which in fact it should not
+       */
+      w ! Identify(())
+      expectMsg(ActorIdentity((), Some(w)))
+      w ! Identify(())
+      expectMsg(ActorIdentity((), Some(w)))
+    }
   }
 
 }
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Actor.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Actor.scala
index d6cbc54051..01ae610a65 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Actor.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Actor.scala
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ case class ActorIdentity(correlationId: Any, ref: Option[ActorRef]) {
 @SerialVersionUID(1L)
 case class Terminated private[akka] (@BeanProperty actor: ActorRef)(
   @BeanProperty val existenceConfirmed: Boolean,
-  @BeanProperty val addressTerminated: Boolean) extends PossiblyHarmful
+  @BeanProperty val addressTerminated: Boolean) extends AutoReceivedMessage with PossiblyHarmful
 
 /**
  * INTERNAL API
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala
index 86a4b37cec..242897ad30 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala
@@ -470,6 +470,7 @@ private[akka] class ActorCell(
         publish(Debug(self.path.toString, clazz(actor), "received AutoReceiveMessage " + msg))
 
       msg.message match {
+        case t: Terminated              ⇒ receivedTerminated(t)
         case AddressTerminated(address) ⇒ addressTerminated(address)
         case Kill                       ⇒ throw new ActorKilledException("Kill")
         case PoisonPill                 ⇒ self.stop()
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/FaultHandling.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/FaultHandling.scala
index 2bfa1c60ea..93dc032440 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/FaultHandling.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/FaultHandling.scala
@@ -154,6 +154,7 @@ object SupervisorStrategy extends SupervisorStrategyLowPriorityImplicits {
     def defaultDecider: Decider = {
       case _: ActorInitializationException ⇒ Stop
       case _: ActorKilledException         ⇒ Stop
+      case _: DeathPactException           ⇒ Stop
       case _: Exception                    ⇒ Restart
     }
     OneForOneStrategy()(defaultDecider)
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dungeon/DeathWatch.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dungeon/DeathWatch.scala
index ce12a7ca78..9c96d890dd 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dungeon/DeathWatch.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dungeon/DeathWatch.scala
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ private[akka] trait DeathWatch { this: ActorCell ⇒
 
   private var watching: Set[ActorRef] = ActorCell.emptyActorRefSet
   private var watchedBy: Set[ActorRef] = ActorCell.emptyActorRefSet
+  private var terminatedQueued: Set[ActorRef] = ActorCell.emptyActorRefSet
 
   override final def watch(subject: ActorRef): ActorRef = subject match {
     case a: InternalActorRef ⇒
@@ -29,14 +30,22 @@ private[akka] trait DeathWatch { this: ActorCell ⇒
   override final def unwatch(subject: ActorRef): ActorRef = subject match {
     case a: InternalActorRef ⇒
       if (a != self && watchingContains(a)) {
+        a.sendSystemMessage(Unwatch(a, self)) // ➡➡➡ NEVER SEND THE SAME SYSTEM MESSAGE OBJECT TO TWO ACTORS ⬅⬅⬅
         maintainAddressTerminatedSubscription(a) {
-          a.sendSystemMessage(Unwatch(a, self)) // ➡➡➡ NEVER SEND THE SAME SYSTEM MESSAGE OBJECT TO TWO ACTORS ⬅⬅⬅
-          removeWatching(a)
+          watching = removeFromSet(a, watching)
         }
       }
+      terminatedQueued = removeFromSet(a, terminatedQueued)
       a
   }
 
+  protected def receivedTerminated(t: Terminated): Unit = {
+    if (terminatedQueued(t.actor)) {
+      terminatedQueued -= t.actor // here we know that it is the SAME ref which was put in
+      receiveMessage(t)
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * When this actor is watching the subject of [[akka.actor.Terminated]] message
    * it will be propagated to user's receive.
@@ -45,9 +54,12 @@ private[akka] trait DeathWatch { this: ActorCell ⇒
     if (childrenRefs.getByRef(actor).isDefined) handleChildTerminated(actor)
     if (watchingContains(actor)) {
       maintainAddressTerminatedSubscription(actor) {
-        removeWatching(actor)
+        watching = removeFromSet(actor, watching)
+      }
+      if (!isTerminating) {
+        self.tell(Terminated(actor)(existenceConfirmed, addressTerminated), actor)
+        terminatedQueued += actor
       }
-      if (!isTerminating) self.tell(Terminated(actor)(existenceConfirmed, addressTerminated), actor)
     }
   }
 
@@ -58,12 +70,13 @@ private[akka] trait DeathWatch { this: ActorCell ⇒
       watching.contains(new UndefinedUidActorRef(subject)))
   }
 
-  // TODO this should be removed and be replaced with `watching -= subject`
+  // TODO this should be removed and be replaced with `set - subject`
   //   when all actor references have uid, i.e. actorFor is removed
-  private def removeWatching(subject: ActorRef): Unit = {
-    watching -= subject
+  private def removeFromSet(subject: ActorRef, set: Set[ActorRef]): Set[ActorRef] = {
+    val removed = if (set(subject)) set - subject else set
     if (subject.path.uid != ActorCell.undefinedUid)
-      watching -= new UndefinedUidActorRef(subject)
+      removed - new UndefinedUidActorRef(subject)
+    else removed filterNot (_.path == subject.path)
   }
 
   protected def tellWatchersWeDied(actor: Actor): Unit = {
@@ -100,6 +113,7 @@ private[akka] trait DeathWatch { this: ActorCell ⇒
         }
       } finally {
         watching = ActorCell.emptyActorRefSet
+        terminatedQueued = ActorCell.emptyActorRefSet
         unsubscribeAddressTerminated()
       }
     }
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/java/untyped-actors.rst b/akka-docs/rst/java/untyped-actors.rst
index ef9bccf0a0..2dea93805f 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/java/untyped-actors.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/java/untyped-actors.rst
@@ -196,9 +196,10 @@ monitoring of an already terminated actor leads to the immediate generation of
 the :class:`Terminated` message.
 
 It is also possible to deregister from watching another actor’s liveliness
-using ``context.unwatch(target)``, but obviously this cannot guarantee
-non-reception of the :class:`Terminated` message because that may already have
-been queued.
+using ``getContext().unwatch(target)``. This works even if the
+:class:`Terminated` message has already been enqueued in the mailbox; after
+calling :meth:`unwatch` no :class:`Terminated` message for that actor will be
+processed anymore.
 
 Start Hook
 ----------
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/project/migration-guide-2.1.x-2.2.x.rst b/akka-docs/rst/project/migration-guide-2.1.x-2.2.x.rst
index a2c1f6c2f6..2133be9e34 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/project/migration-guide-2.1.x-2.2.x.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/project/migration-guide-2.1.x-2.2.x.rst
@@ -236,10 +236,39 @@ Instead, use actorSelection followed by identify request, and watch the verified
     case Terminated(`ref`) => // ...
   }
 
-
-
 Use ``watch`` instead of ``isTerminated``
 =========================================
 
 ``ActorRef.isTerminated`` is deprecated in favor of ``ActorContext.watch`` because
 ``isTerminated`` behaves differently for local and remote actors.
+
+DeathWatch Semantics are Simplified
+===================================
+
+DeathPactException is now Fatal
+-------------------------------
+
+Previously an unhandled :class:`Terminated` message which led to a
+:class:`DeathPactException` to the thrown would be answered with a ``Restart``
+directive by the default supervisor strategy. This is not intuitive given the
+name of the exception and the Erlang linking feature by which it was inspired.
+The default strategy has thus be changed to return ``Stop`` in this case.
+
+It can be argued that previously the actor would likely run into a restart loop
+because watching a terminated actor would lead to a :class:`DeathPactException`
+immediately again.
+
+Unwatching now Prevents Reception of Terminated
+-----------------------------------------------
+
+Previously calling :meth:`ActorContext.unwatch` would unregister lifecycle
+monitoring interest, but if the target actor had terminated already the
+:class:`Terminated` message had already been enqueued and would be received
+later—possibly leading to a :class:`DeathPactException`. This behavior has been
+modified such that the :class:`Terminated` message will be silently discarded
+if :meth:`unwatch` is called before processing the :class:`Terminated`
+message. Therefore the following is now safe::
+
+  context.stop(target)
+  context.unwatch(target)
+
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/actors.rst b/akka-docs/rst/scala/actors.rst
index f9fdcec3ce..6bd14235fe 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/actors.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/actors.rst
@@ -310,9 +310,9 @@ monitoring of an already terminated actor leads to the immediate generation of
 the :class:`Terminated` message.
 
 It is also possible to deregister from watching another actor’s liveliness
-using ``context.unwatch(target)``, but obviously this cannot guarantee
-non-reception of the :class:`Terminated` message because that may already have
-been queued.
+using ``context.unwatch(target)``. This works even if the :class:`Terminated`
+message has already been enqueued in the mailbox; after calling :meth:`unwatch`
+no :class:`Terminated` message for that actor will be processed anymore.
 
 Start Hook
 ----------