diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/akka-cluster/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index b34c0c9eb1..a844ef1a37 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -9,10 +9,10 @@ akka {
 
   cluster {
     # Initial contact points of the cluster.
-    # The nodes to join at startup if auto-join = on.
+    # The nodes to join automatically at startup.
     # Comma separated full URIs defined by a string on the form of
     # "akka://system@hostname:port"
-    # Leave as empty if the node should be a singleton cluster.
+    # Leave as empty if the node is supposed to be joined manually.
     seed-nodes = []
 
     # how long to wait for one of the seed nodes to reply to initial join request
@@ -22,10 +22,6 @@ akka {
     # Disable join retry by specifying "off".
     retry-unsuccessful-join-after = 10s
 
-    # Automatic join the seed-nodes at startup.
-    # If seed-nodes is empty it will join itself and become a single node cluster.
-    auto-join = on
-
     # Should the 'leader' in the cluster be allowed to automatically mark
     # unreachable nodes as DOWN?
     # Using auto-down implies that two separate clusters will automatically be
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterDaemon.scala b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterDaemon.scala
index 8b7dd5db66..c0d6ac9b4c 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterDaemon.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterDaemon.scala
@@ -260,13 +260,16 @@ private[cluster] final class ClusterCoreDaemon(publisher: ActorRef) extends Acto
 
   // start periodic publish of current stats
   val publishStatsTask: Option[Cancellable] = PublishStatsInterval match {
-    case Duration.Zero | Duration.Undefined | Duration.Inf ⇒ None
+    case Duration.Zero | _: Duration.Infinite ⇒ None
     case d: FiniteDuration ⇒
       Some(scheduler.schedule(PeriodicTasksInitialDelay.max(d), d, self, PublishStatsTick))
   }
 
   override def preStart(): Unit = {
-    if (AutoJoin) self ! JoinSeedNodes(SeedNodes)
+    if (SeedNodes.isEmpty)
+      log.info("No seed-nodes configured, manual cluster join required")
+    else
+      self ! JoinSeedNodes(SeedNodes)
   }
 
   override def postStop(): Unit = {
@@ -296,7 +299,7 @@ private[cluster] final class ClusterCoreDaemon(publisher: ActorRef) extends Acto
     case _: Tick ⇒
       if (deadline.exists(_.isOverdue)) {
         context.become(uninitialized)
-        if (AutoJoin) joinSeedNodes(SeedNodes)
+        if (SeedNodes.nonEmpty) joinSeedNodes(SeedNodes)
         else join(joinWith)
       }
   }
@@ -336,17 +339,19 @@ private[cluster] final class ClusterCoreDaemon(publisher: ActorRef) extends Acto
 
   def joinSeedNodes(seedNodes: immutable.IndexedSeq[Address]): Unit = {
     require(seedNodeProcess.isEmpty, "Join seed nodes is already in progress")
-    seedNodeProcess =
-      if (seedNodes.isEmpty || seedNodes == immutable.IndexedSeq(selfAddress)) {
-        self ! ClusterUserAction.JoinTo(selfAddress)
-        None
-      } else if (seedNodes.head == selfAddress) {
-        Some(context.actorOf(Props(classOf[FirstSeedNodeProcess], seedNodes).
-          withDispatcher(UseDispatcher), name = "firstSeedNodeProcess"))
-      } else {
-        Some(context.actorOf(Props(classOf[JoinSeedNodeProcess], seedNodes).
-          withDispatcher(UseDispatcher), name = "joinSeedNodeProcess"))
-      }
+    if (seedNodes.nonEmpty) {
+      seedNodeProcess =
+        if (seedNodes == immutable.IndexedSeq(selfAddress)) {
+          self ! ClusterUserAction.JoinTo(selfAddress)
+          None
+        } else if (seedNodes.head == selfAddress) {
+          Some(context.actorOf(Props(classOf[FirstSeedNodeProcess], seedNodes).
+            withDispatcher(UseDispatcher), name = "firstSeedNodeProcess"))
+        } else {
+          Some(context.actorOf(Props(classOf[JoinSeedNodeProcess], seedNodes).
+            withDispatcher(UseDispatcher), name = "joinSeedNodeProcess"))
+        }
+    }
   }
 
   /**
@@ -383,8 +388,8 @@ private[cluster] final class ClusterCoreDaemon(publisher: ActorRef) extends Acto
         joining(selfUniqueAddress, cluster.selfRoles)
       } else {
         val joinDeadline = RetryUnsuccessfulJoinAfter match {
-          case Duration.Undefined | Duration.Inf ⇒ None
-          case d: FiniteDuration                 ⇒ Some(Deadline.now + d)
+          case d: FiniteDuration ⇒ Some(Deadline.now + d)
+          case _                 ⇒ None
         }
         context.become(tryingToJoin(address, joinDeadline))
         clusterCore(address) ! Join(selfUniqueAddress, cluster.selfRoles)
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSettings.scala b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSettings.scala
index 8b25a283b3..d23065c4ed 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSettings.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSettings.scala
@@ -62,7 +62,6 @@ class ClusterSettings(val config: Config, val systemName: String) {
       case _     ⇒ Duration(cc.getMilliseconds(key), MILLISECONDS) requiring (_ >= Duration.Zero, key + " >= 0s, or off")
     }
   }
-  final val AutoJoin: Boolean = cc.getBoolean("auto-join")
   final val AutoDown: Boolean = cc.getBoolean("auto-down")
   final val Roles: Set[String] = immutableSeq(cc.getStringList("roles")).toSet
   final val MinNrOfMembers: Int = {
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/JoinSeedNodeSpec.scala b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/JoinSeedNodeSpec.scala
index f01f8da317..142f089a32 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/JoinSeedNodeSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/JoinSeedNodeSpec.scala
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ object JoinSeedNodeMultiJvmSpec extends MultiNodeConfig {
   val ordinary2 = role("ordinary2")
 
   commonConfig(debugConfig(on = false).
-    withFallback(ConfigFactory.parseString("akka.cluster.auto-join = off")).
     withFallback(MultiNodeClusterSpec.clusterConfig))
 }
 
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/MultiNodeClusterSpec.scala b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/MultiNodeClusterSpec.scala
index fa62362b5e..fd53a6f3f4 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/MultiNodeClusterSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/MultiNodeClusterSpec.scala
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ object MultiNodeClusterSpec {
   def clusterConfig: Config = ConfigFactory.parseString("""
     akka.actor.provider = akka.cluster.ClusterActorRefProvider
     akka.cluster {
-      auto-join                           = off
       auto-down                           = off
       jmx.enabled                         = off
       gossip-interval                     = 200 ms
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/RestartFirstSeedNodeSpec.scala b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/RestartFirstSeedNodeSpec.scala
index dcb70fbc8d..f7d8987e9a 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/RestartFirstSeedNodeSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/RestartFirstSeedNodeSpec.scala
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ object RestartFirstSeedNodeMultiJvmSpec extends MultiNodeConfig {
   commonConfig(debugConfig(on = false).
     withFallback(ConfigFactory.parseString("""
       akka.cluster {
-        auto-join = off
         auto-down = on
       }
     """)).withFallback(MultiNodeClusterSpec.clusterConfig))
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/SingletonClusterSpec.scala b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/SingletonClusterSpec.scala
index b49ba60164..aba029dcc3 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/SingletonClusterSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/SingletonClusterSpec.scala
@@ -23,8 +23,6 @@ case class SingletonClusterMultiNodeConfig(failureDetectorPuppet: Boolean) exten
     """)).
     withFallback(MultiNodeClusterSpec.clusterConfig(failureDetectorPuppet)))
 
-  nodeConfig(first)(ConfigFactory.parseString("akka.cluster.auto-join = on"))
-
 }
 
 class SingletonClusterWithFailureDetectorPuppetMultiJvmNode1 extends SingletonClusterSpec(failureDetectorPuppet = true)
@@ -45,8 +43,9 @@ abstract class SingletonClusterSpec(multiNodeConfig: SingletonClusterMultiNodeCo
 
   "A cluster of 2 nodes" must {
 
-    "become singleton cluster when started with 'auto-join=on' and 'seed-nodes=[]'" taggedAs LongRunningTest in {
+    "become singleton cluster when started with seed-nodes" taggedAs LongRunningTest in {
       runOn(first) {
+        cluster.joinSeedNodes(Vector(first))
         awaitMembersUp(1)
         clusterView.isSingletonCluster must be(true)
       }
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/StressSpec.scala b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/StressSpec.scala
index 7e1c14d323..02bd1b4523 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/StressSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/StressSpec.scala
@@ -119,7 +119,6 @@ private[cluster] object StressMultiJvmSpec extends MultiNodeConfig {
 
     akka.actor.provider = akka.cluster.ClusterActorRefProvider
     akka.cluster {
-      auto-join = off
       auto-down = on
       publish-stats-interval = 0 s # always, when it happens
     }
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/SunnyWeatherSpec.scala b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/SunnyWeatherSpec.scala
index a7628d1460..234e7c6f78 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/SunnyWeatherSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/cluster/SunnyWeatherSpec.scala
@@ -25,9 +25,6 @@ object SunnyWeatherMultiJvmSpec extends MultiNodeConfig {
   // not MultiNodeClusterSpec.clusterConfig
   commonConfig(ConfigFactory.parseString("""
     akka.actor.provider = akka.cluster.ClusterActorRefProvider
-    akka.cluster {
-      auto-join = off
-    }
     akka.loggers = ["akka.testkit.TestEventListener"]
     akka.loglevel = INFO
     akka.remote.log-remote-lifecycle-events = off
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterConfigSpec.scala b/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterConfigSpec.scala
index 613f86cf8b..36c40ce8e6 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterConfigSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterConfigSpec.scala
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ class ClusterConfigSpec extends AkkaSpec {
       LeaderActionsInterval must be(1 second)
       UnreachableNodesReaperInterval must be(1 second)
       PublishStatsInterval must be(10 second)
-      AutoJoin must be(true)
       AutoDown must be(false)
       MinNrOfMembers must be(1)
       MinNrOfMembersOfRole must be === Map.empty
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSpec.scala b/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSpec.scala
index 47cfcb19a1..c025cf44a3 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSpec.scala
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ import akka.actor.ActorRef
 object ClusterSpec {
   val config = """
     akka.cluster {
-      auto-join                    = off
       auto-down                    = off
       periodic-tasks-initial-delay = 120 seconds // turn off scheduled tasks
       publish-stats-interval = 0 s # always, when it happens
@@ -60,7 +59,7 @@ class ClusterSpec extends AkkaSpec(ClusterSpec.config) with ImplicitSender {
     }
 
     "initially become singleton cluster when joining itself and reach convergence" in {
-      clusterView.members.size must be(0) // auto-join = off
+      clusterView.members.size must be(0)
       cluster.join(selfAddress)
       leaderActions() // Joining -> Up
       awaitCond(clusterView.isSingletonCluster)
diff --git a/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/ClusterClientSpec.scala b/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/ClusterClientSpec.scala
index 2b7b276aff..732be5559a 100644
--- a/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/ClusterClientSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/ClusterClientSpec.scala
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ object ClusterClientSpec extends MultiNodeConfig {
     akka.loglevel = INFO
     akka.actor.provider = "akka.cluster.ClusterActorRefProvider"
     akka.remote.log-remote-lifecycle-events = off
-    akka.cluster.auto-join = off
     akka.cluster.auto-down = on
     """))
 
diff --git a/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/ClusterSingletonManagerChaosSpec.scala b/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/ClusterSingletonManagerChaosSpec.scala
index 6f3d5dc43f..672b07a0de 100644
--- a/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/ClusterSingletonManagerChaosSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/ClusterSingletonManagerChaosSpec.scala
@@ -40,7 +40,6 @@ object ClusterSingletonManagerChaosSpec extends MultiNodeConfig {
     akka.loglevel = INFO
     akka.actor.provider = "akka.cluster.ClusterActorRefProvider"
     akka.remote.log-remote-lifecycle-events = off
-    akka.cluster.auto-join = off
     akka.cluster.auto-down = on
     """))
 
diff --git a/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/ClusterSingletonManagerSpec.scala b/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/ClusterSingletonManagerSpec.scala
index 65930c80b1..c2c8fdd993 100644
--- a/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/ClusterSingletonManagerSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/ClusterSingletonManagerSpec.scala
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@ object ClusterSingletonManagerSpec extends MultiNodeConfig {
     akka.loglevel = INFO
     akka.actor.provider = "akka.cluster.ClusterActorRefProvider"
     akka.remote.log-remote-lifecycle-events = off
-    akka.cluster.auto-join = off
     akka.cluster.auto-down = on
     """))
 
diff --git a/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/DistributedPubSubMediatorSpec.scala b/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/DistributedPubSubMediatorSpec.scala
index 70c241e059..18ab652d1c 100644
--- a/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/DistributedPubSubMediatorSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-contrib/src/multi-jvm/scala/akka/contrib/pattern/DistributedPubSubMediatorSpec.scala
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ object DistributedPubSubMediatorSpec extends MultiNodeConfig {
     akka.loglevel = INFO
     akka.actor.provider = "akka.cluster.ClusterActorRefProvider"
     akka.remote.log-remote-lifecycle-events = off
-    akka.cluster.auto-join = off
     akka.cluster.auto-down = on
     """))
 
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/common/cluster.rst b/akka-docs/rst/common/cluster.rst
index 2b49a04134..0cf5df704f 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/common/cluster.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/common/cluster.rst
@@ -68,16 +68,6 @@ partitioning of the application are decoupled. A node could be a member of a
 cluster without hosting any actors.
 
 
-Singleton Cluster
------------------
-
-If a node does not have a preconfigured contact point to join in the Akka
-configuration, then it is considered a singleton cluster (single node cluster)
-and will automatically transition from ``joining`` to ``up``. Singleton clusters
-can later explicitly send a ``Join`` message to another node to form a N-node
-cluster. It is also possible to link multiple N-node clusters by ``joining`` them.
-
-
 Gossip
 ------
 
@@ -187,7 +177,8 @@ The seed nodes are configured contact points for inital join of the cluster.
 When a new node is started started it sends a message to all seed nodes and 
 then sends join command to the one that answers first.
 
-It is possible to turn off automatic join.
+It is possible to not use seed nodes and instead join any node in the cluster
+manually.
 
 
 Gossip Protocol
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/java/cluster-usage.rst b/akka-docs/rst/java/cluster-usage.rst
index 952495a6c2..055e030ac5 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/java/cluster-usage.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/java/cluster-usage.rst
@@ -93,13 +93,12 @@ and register it as subscriber of certain cluster events. It gets notified with
 an snapshot event, ``CurrentClusterState`` that holds full state information of
 the cluster. After that it receives events for changes that happen in the cluster.
 
-Automatic vs. Manual Joining
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+Joining to Seed Nodes
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
-You may decide if joining to the cluster should be done automatically or manually.
-By default it is automatic and you need to define the seed nodes in configuration
-so that a new node has an initial contact point. When a new node is started it
-sends a message to all seed nodes and then sends join command to the one that
+You may decide if joining to the cluster should be done manually or automatically
+to configured initial contact points, so-called seed nodes. When a new node is started
+it sends a message to all seed nodes and then sends join command to the one that
 answers first. If no one of the seed nodes replied (might not be started yet)
 it retries this procedure until successful or shutdown.
 
@@ -115,22 +114,17 @@ Once more than two seed nodes have been started it is no problem to shut down th
 seed node. If the first seed node is restarted it will first try join the other 
 seed nodes in the existing cluster.
 
-You can disable automatic joining with configuration::
-
-      akka.cluster.auto-join = off
-
-Then you need to join manually, using :ref:`cluster_jmx_java` or :ref:`cluster_command_line_java`.
-You can join to any node in the cluster. It doesn't have to be configured as
-seed node. If you are not using auto-join there is no need to configure
-seed nodes at all.
+If you don't configure the seed nodes you need to join manually, using :ref:`cluster_jmx_java`
+or :ref:`cluster_command_line_java`. You can join to any node in the cluster. It doesn't 
+have to be configured as a seed node.
 
 Joining can also be performed programatically with ``Cluster.get(system).join(address)``.
 
 Unsuccessful join attempts are automatically retried after the time period defined in 
-configuration property ``retry-unsuccessful-join-after``. When using auto-joining with
-``seed-nodes`` this means that a new seed node is picked. When joining manually or
-programatically this means that the last join request is retried. Retries can be disabled by
-setting the property to ``off``.
+configuration property ``retry-unsuccessful-join-after``. When using ``seed-nodes`` this
+means that a new seed node is picked. When joining manually or programatically this means 
+that the last join request is retried. Retries can be disabled by setting the property to 
+``off``.
 
 An actor system can only join a cluster once. Additional attempts will be ignored.
 When it has successfully joined it must be restarted to be able to join another
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/cluster-usage.rst b/akka-docs/rst/scala/cluster-usage.rst
index 8410066bf0..6be41d77b0 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/cluster-usage.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/cluster-usage.rst
@@ -86,13 +86,12 @@ and register it as subscriber of certain cluster events. It gets notified with
 an snapshot event, ``CurrentClusterState`` that holds full state information of
 the cluster. After that it receives events for changes that happen in the cluster.
 
-Automatic vs. Manual Joining
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+Joining to Seed Nodes
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
-You may decide if joining to the cluster should be done automatically or manually.
-By default it is automatic and you need to define the seed nodes in configuration
-so that a new node has an initial contact point. When a new node is started it
-sends a message to all seed nodes and then sends join command to the one that
+You may decide if joining to the cluster should be done manually or automatically
+to configured initial contact points, so-called seed nodes. When a new node is started
+it sends a message to all seed nodes and then sends join command to the one that
 answers first. If no one of the seed nodes replied (might not be started yet)
 it retries this procedure until successful or shutdown.
 
@@ -108,22 +107,17 @@ Once more than two seed nodes have been started it is no problem to shut down th
 seed node. If the first seed node is restarted it will first try join the other 
 seed nodes in the existing cluster.
 
-You can disable automatic joining with configuration::
-
-      akka.cluster.auto-join = off
-
-Then you need to join manually, using :ref:`cluster_jmx_scala` or :ref:`cluster_command_line_scala`.
-You can join to any node in the cluster. It doesn't have to be configured as
-seed node. If you are not using auto-join there is no need to configure
-seed nodes at all.
+If you don't configure the seed nodes you need to join manually, using :ref:`cluster_jmx_scala`
+or :ref:`cluster_command_line_scala`. You can join to any node in the cluster. It doesn't 
+have to be configured as a seed node.
 
 Joining can also be performed programatically with ``Cluster(system).join(address)``.
 
 Unsuccessful join attempts are automatically retried after the time period defined in 
-configuration property ``retry-unsuccessful-join-after``. When using auto-joining with
-``seed-nodes`` this means that a new seed node is picked. When joining manually or
-programatically this means that the last join request is retried. Retries can be disabled by
-setting the property to ``off``.
+configuration property ``retry-unsuccessful-join-after``. When using ``seed-nodes`` this
+means that a new seed node is picked. When joining manually or programatically this means 
+that the last join request is retried. Retries can be disabled by setting the property to 
+``off``.
 
 An actor system can only join a cluster once. Additional attempts will be ignored.
 When it has successfully joined it must be restarted to be able to join another
diff --git a/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/StatsSampleSingleMasterSpec.scala b/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/StatsSampleSingleMasterSpec.scala
index 16a2ce5f39..882805a80a 100644
--- a/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/StatsSampleSingleMasterSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/StatsSampleSingleMasterSpec.scala
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ object StatsSampleSingleMasterSpecConfig extends MultiNodeConfig {
     akka.actor.provider = "akka.cluster.ClusterActorRefProvider"
     akka.remote.log-remote-lifecycle-events = off
     akka.cluster.roles = [compute]
-    akka.cluster.auto-join = off
     # don't use sigar for tests, native lib not in path
     akka.cluster.metrics.collector-class = akka.cluster.JmxMetricsCollector
     #//#router-deploy-config
diff --git a/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/StatsSampleSpec.scala b/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/StatsSampleSpec.scala
index 680761a2b0..f3f3fee728 100644
--- a/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/StatsSampleSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/StatsSampleSpec.scala
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ object StatsSampleSpecConfig extends MultiNodeConfig {
     akka.actor.provider = "akka.cluster.ClusterActorRefProvider"
     akka.remote.log-remote-lifecycle-events = off
     akka.cluster.roles = [compute]
-    akka.cluster.auto-join = off
     # don't use sigar for tests, native lib not in path
     akka.cluster.metrics.collector-class = akka.cluster.JmxMetricsCollector
     #//#router-lookup-config
diff --git a/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/japi/StatsSampleJapiSpec.scala b/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/japi/StatsSampleJapiSpec.scala
index 549dfb0187..e7e78b36cf 100644
--- a/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/japi/StatsSampleJapiSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/japi/StatsSampleJapiSpec.scala
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ object StatsSampleJapiSpecConfig extends MultiNodeConfig {
     akka.actor.provider = "akka.cluster.ClusterActorRefProvider"
     akka.remote.log-remote-lifecycle-events = off
     akka.cluster.roles = [compute]
-    akka.cluster.auto-join = off
     # don't use sigar for tests, native lib not in path
     akka.cluster.metrics.collector-class = akka.cluster.JmxMetricsCollector
     akka.actor.deployment {
diff --git a/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/japi/StatsSampleSingleMasterJapiSpec.scala b/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/japi/StatsSampleSingleMasterJapiSpec.scala
index 2fd9f7a363..084b9c81ad 100644
--- a/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/japi/StatsSampleSingleMasterJapiSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/stats/japi/StatsSampleSingleMasterJapiSpec.scala
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ object StatsSampleSingleMasterJapiSpecConfig extends MultiNodeConfig {
     akka.actor.provider = "akka.cluster.ClusterActorRefProvider"
     akka.remote.log-remote-lifecycle-events = off
     akka.cluster.roles = [compute]
-    akka.cluster.auto-join = off
     # don't use sigar for tests, native lib not in path
     akka.cluster.metrics.collector-class = akka.cluster.JmxMetricsCollector
     akka.actor.deployment {
diff --git a/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/transformation/TransformationSampleSpec.scala b/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/transformation/TransformationSampleSpec.scala
index 4a9b8d0d35..3de0d0390c 100644
--- a/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/transformation/TransformationSampleSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/transformation/TransformationSampleSpec.scala
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ object TransformationSampleSpecConfig extends MultiNodeConfig {
   commonConfig(ConfigFactory.parseString("""
     akka.actor.provider = "akka.cluster.ClusterActorRefProvider"
     akka.remote.log-remote-lifecycle-events = off
-    akka.cluster.auto-join = off
     # don't use sigar for tests, native lib not in path
     akka.cluster.metrics.collector-class = akka.cluster.JmxMetricsCollector
     """))
diff --git a/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/transformation/japi/TransformationSampleJapiSpec.scala b/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/transformation/japi/TransformationSampleJapiSpec.scala
index e327845270..25eb5d1d78 100644
--- a/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/transformation/japi/TransformationSampleJapiSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-samples/akka-sample-cluster/src/multi-jvm/scala/sample/cluster/transformation/japi/TransformationSampleJapiSpec.scala
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ object TransformationSampleJapiSpecConfig extends MultiNodeConfig {
   commonConfig(ConfigFactory.parseString("""
     akka.actor.provider = "akka.cluster.ClusterActorRefProvider"
     akka.remote.log-remote-lifecycle-events = off
-    akka.cluster.auto-join = off
     # don't use sigar for tests, native lib not in path
     akka.cluster.metrics.collector-class = akka.cluster.JmxMetricsCollector
     """))
diff --git a/akka-testkit/src/test/scala/akka/testkit/AkkaSpecSpec.scala b/akka-testkit/src/test/scala/akka/testkit/AkkaSpecSpec.scala
index aa9ad21181..b2ed7e414e 100644
--- a/akka-testkit/src/test/scala/akka/testkit/AkkaSpecSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-testkit/src/test/scala/akka/testkit/AkkaSpecSpec.scala
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ class AkkaSpecSpec extends WordSpec with MustMatchers {
       try {
         var locker = Seq.empty[DeadLetter]
         implicit val timeout = TestKitExtension(system).DefaultTimeout
-        implicit val davyJones = otherSystem.actorOf(Props(new Actor {
+        val davyJones = otherSystem.actorOf(Props(new Actor {
           def receive = {
             case m: DeadLetter ⇒ locker :+= m
             case "Die!"        ⇒ sender ! "finally gone"; context.stop(self)