diff --git a/akka-actor-typed-tests/src/test/java/akka/actor/typed/ManualTimerTest.java b/akka-actor-typed-tests/src/test/java/akka/actor/typed/ManualTimerTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..669a1a284e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-actor-typed-tests/src/test/java/akka/actor/typed/ManualTimerTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 Lightbend Inc. <http://www.lightbend.com/>
+ */
+package akka.actor.typed;
+
+//#manual-scheduling-simple
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import static com.typesafe.config.ConfigFactory.parseString;
+
+import scala.concurrent.duration.Duration;
+
+import akka.actor.typed.javadsl.Behaviors;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import akka.testkit.typed.TestKit;
+import akka.testkit.typed.ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler;
+import akka.testkit.typed.javadsl.TestProbe;
+
+public class ManualTimerTest extends TestKit {
+  ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler scheduler;
+
+  public ManualTimerTest() {
+    super(parseString("akka.scheduler.implementation = \"akka.testkit.typed.ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler\""));
+    this.scheduler = (ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler) system().scheduler();
+  }
+
+  static final class Tick {}
+  static final class Tock {}
+
+  @Test
+  public void testScheduleNonRepeatedTicks() {
+    TestProbe<Tock> probe = new TestProbe<>(system());
+    Behavior<Tick> behavior = Behaviors.withTimers(timer -> {
+      timer.startSingleTimer("T", new Tick(), Duration.create(10, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+      return Behaviors.immutable( (ctx, tick) -> {
+        probe.ref().tell(new Tock());
+        return Behaviors.same();
+      });
+    });
+
+    spawn(behavior);
+
+    scheduler.expectNoMessageFor(Duration.create(9, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS), probe);
+
+    scheduler.timePasses(Duration.create(2, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+    probe.expectMsgType(Tock.class);
+
+    scheduler.expectNoMessageFor(Duration.create(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS), probe);
+  }
+
+
+}
+//#manual-scheduling-simple
diff --git a/akka-actor-typed-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/typed/ManualTimerSpec.scala b/akka-actor-typed-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/typed/ManualTimerSpec.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e9799c3212
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-actor-typed-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/typed/ManualTimerSpec.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+package akka.actor.typed
+
+//#manual-scheduling-simple
+import scala.concurrent.duration._
+
+import akka.actor.typed.scaladsl.Behaviors
+
+import org.scalatest.WordSpecLike
+
+import akka.testkit.typed.TestKit
+import akka.testkit.typed.scaladsl.{ ManualTime, TestProbe }
+
+class ManualTimerSpec extends TestKit(ManualTime.config) with ManualTime with WordSpecLike {
+
+  "A timer" must {
+    "schedule non-repeated ticks" in {
+      case object Tick
+      case object Tock
+
+      val probe = TestProbe[Tock.type]()
+      val behavior = Behaviors.withTimers[Tick.type] { timer ⇒
+        timer.startSingleTimer("T", Tick, 10.millis)
+        Behaviors.immutable { (ctx, Tick) ⇒
+          probe.ref ! Tock
+          Behaviors.same
+        }
+      }
+
+      spawn(behavior)
+
+      scheduler.expectNoMessageFor(9.millis, probe)
+
+      scheduler.timePasses(2.millis)
+      probe.expectMsg(Tock)
+
+      scheduler.expectNoMessageFor(10.seconds, probe)
+    }
+    //#manual-scheduling-simple
+
+    "schedule repeated ticks" in {
+      case object Tick
+      case object Tock
+
+      val probe = TestProbe[Tock.type]()
+      val behavior = Behaviors.withTimers[Tick.type] { timer ⇒
+        timer.startPeriodicTimer("T", Tick, 10.millis)
+        Behaviors.immutable { (ctx, Tick) ⇒
+          probe.ref ! Tock
+          Behaviors.same
+        }
+      }
+
+      spawn(behavior)
+
+      for (_ ← Range(0, 5)) {
+        scheduler.expectNoMessageFor(9.millis, probe)
+
+        scheduler.timePasses(1.milli)
+        probe.expectMsg(Tock)
+      }
+    }
+
+    "replace timer" in {
+      sealed trait Command
+      case class Tick(n: Int) extends Command
+      case class SlowThenBump(nextCount: Int) extends Command
+      sealed trait Event
+      case class Tock(n: Int) extends Event
+
+      val probe = TestProbe[Event]("evt")
+      val interval = 10.millis
+
+      val behavior = Behaviors.withTimers[Command] { timer ⇒
+        timer.startPeriodicTimer("T", Tick(1), interval)
+        Behaviors.immutable { (ctx, cmd) ⇒
+          cmd match {
+            case Tick(n) ⇒
+              probe.ref ! Tock(n)
+              Behaviors.same
+            case SlowThenBump(nextCount) ⇒
+              scheduler.timePasses(interval)
+              timer.startPeriodicTimer("T", Tick(nextCount), interval)
+              Behaviors.same
+          }
+        }
+      }
+
+      val ref = spawn(behavior)
+
+      scheduler.timePasses(11.millis)
+      probe.expectMsg(Tock(1))
+
+      // next Tock(1) enqueued in mailboxed, but should be discarded because of new timer
+      ref ! SlowThenBump(2)
+      scheduler.expectNoMessageFor(interval, probe)
+
+      scheduler.timePasses(interval)
+      probe.expectMsg(Tock(2))
+    }
+
+    //#manual-scheduling-simple
+  }
+}
+//#manual-scheduling-simple
diff --git a/akka-actor-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/typed/scaladsl/AskPattern.scala b/akka-actor-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/typed/scaladsl/AskPattern.scala
index 9b964dc3a6..554f793da9 100644
--- a/akka-actor-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/typed/scaladsl/AskPattern.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-typed/src/main/scala/akka/actor/typed/scaladsl/AskPattern.scala
@@ -63,12 +63,15 @@ object AskPattern {
      * val f: Future[Reply] = target ? (Request("hello", _))
      * }}}
      */
-    def ?[U](f: ActorRef[U] ⇒ T)(implicit timeout: Timeout, scheduler: Scheduler): Future[U] =
+    def ?[U](f: ActorRef[U] ⇒ T)(implicit timeout: Timeout, scheduler: Scheduler): Future[U] = {
+      // We do not currently use the implicit scheduler, but want to require it
+      // because it might be needed when we move to a 'native' typed runtime, see #24219
       ref match {
         case a: adapt.ActorRefAdapter[_]    ⇒ askUntyped(ref, a.untyped, timeout, f)
         case a: adapt.ActorSystemAdapter[_] ⇒ askUntyped(ref, a.untyped.guardian, timeout, f)
         case a                              ⇒ throw new IllegalStateException("Only expect actor references to be ActorRefAdapter or ActorSystemAdapter until native system is implemented: " + a.getClass)
       }
+    }
   }
 
   private val onTimeout: String ⇒ Throwable = msg ⇒ new TimeoutException(msg)
diff --git a/akka-docs/src/main/paradox/typed/testing.md b/akka-docs/src/main/paradox/typed/testing.md
index 7fe53ae6e6..12d7b3954d 100644
--- a/akka-docs/src/main/paradox/typed/testing.md
+++ b/akka-docs/src/main/paradox/typed/testing.md
@@ -183,3 +183,16 @@ Scala
 Java
 :  @@snip [BasicAsyncTestingTest.java]($akka$/akka-actor-typed-tests/src/test/java/jdocs/akka/typed/testing/async/BasicAsyncTestingTest.java) { #test-spawn-anonymous } 
 
+### Controlling the scheduler
+
+It can be hard to reliably unit test specific scenario's when your actor relies on timing:
+especially when running many tests in parallel it can be hard to get the timing just right.
+Making such tests more reliable by using generous timeouts make the tests take a long time to run.
+
+For such situations, we provide a scheduler where you can manually, explicitly advance the clock.
+
+Scala
+:   @@snip [ManualTimerSpec.scala]($akka$/akka-actor-typed-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/typed/ManualTimerSpec.scala) { #manual-scheduling-simple }
+
+Java
+:   @@snip [ManualTimerTest.scala]($akka$/akka-actor-typed-tests/src/test/java/akka/actor/typed/ManualTimerTest.java) { #manual-scheduling-simple }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/typed/ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler.scala b/akka-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/typed/ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..979efe00a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/typed/ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+package akka.testkit.typed
+
+import java.util.concurrent.ThreadFactory
+
+import com.typesafe.config.Config
+
+import scala.annotation.varargs
+import scala.concurrent.duration.{ Duration, FiniteDuration }
+
+import akka.event.LoggingAdapter
+
+class ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler(config: Config, log: LoggingAdapter, tf: ThreadFactory) extends akka.testkit.ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler(config, log, tf) {
+
+  @varargs
+  def expectNoMessageFor(duration: FiniteDuration, on: scaladsl.TestProbe[_]*): Unit = {
+    timePasses(duration)
+    on.foreach(_.expectNoMessage(Duration.Zero))
+  }
+}
diff --git a/akka-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/typed/TestKit.scala b/akka-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/typed/TestKit.scala
index fd0a821f1d..28b4547ca8 100644
--- a/akka-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/typed/TestKit.scala
+++ b/akka-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/typed/TestKit.scala
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ class TestKit(name: String, config: Option[Config]) extends TestKitBase {
   def this(name: String) = this(name, None)
   def this(config: Config) = this(TestKit.getCallerName(classOf[TestKit]), Some(config))
   def this(name: String, config: Config) = this(name, Some(config))
+
   import TestKit._
   implicit val system = ActorSystem(testKitGuardian, name, config = config)
 }
diff --git a/akka-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ManualTime.scala b/akka-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ManualTime.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7136e02838
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-testkit-typed/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/typed/scaladsl/ManualTime.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+package akka.testkit.typed.scaladsl
+
+import com.typesafe.config.{ Config, ConfigFactory }
+
+import akka.testkit.typed._
+
+object ManualTime {
+  val config: Config = ConfigFactory.parseString("""akka.scheduler.implementation = "akka.testkit.typed.ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler"""")
+}
+trait ManualTime { self: TestKit ⇒
+  override val scheduler: ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler = self.system.scheduler.asInstanceOf[ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler]
+}
diff --git a/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler.scala b/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4475947c3d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+package akka.testkit
+
+import java.util.concurrent.ThreadFactory
+import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong
+
+import com.typesafe.config.Config
+
+import scala.annotation.tailrec
+import scala.collection.JavaConverters._
+import scala.concurrent.ExecutionContext
+import scala.concurrent.duration.{ Duration, FiniteDuration }
+import scala.util.Try
+
+import akka.actor.Cancellable
+import akka.actor.Scheduler
+import akka.event.LoggingAdapter
+
+/**
+ * For testing: scheduler that does not look at the clock, but must be
+ * progressed manually by calling `timePasses`.
+ *
+ * This allows for faster and less timing-sensitive specs, as jobs will be
+ * executed on the test thread instead of using the original
+ * {ExecutionContext}. This means recreating specific scenario's becomes
+ * easier, but these tests might fail to catch race conditions that only
+ * happen when tasks are scheduled in parallel in 'real time'.
+ */
+class ExplicitlyTriggeredScheduler(config: Config, log: LoggingAdapter, tf: ThreadFactory) extends Scheduler {
+
+  private case class Item(time: Long, interval: Option[FiniteDuration], runnable: Runnable)
+
+  private val currentTime = new AtomicLong()
+  private val scheduled = new ConcurrentHashMap[Item, Unit]()
+
+  override def schedule(initialDelay: FiniteDuration, interval: FiniteDuration, runnable: Runnable)(implicit executor: ExecutionContext): Cancellable =
+    schedule(initialDelay, Some(interval), runnable)
+
+  override def scheduleOnce(delay: FiniteDuration, runnable: Runnable)(implicit executor: ExecutionContext): Cancellable =
+    schedule(delay, None, runnable)
+
+  /**
+   * Advance the clock by the specified duration, executing all outstanding jobs on the calling thread before returning.
+   *
+   * We will not add a dilation factor to this amount, since the scheduler API also does not apply dilation.
+   * If you want the amount of time passed to be dilated, apply the dilation before passing the delay to
+   * this method.
+   */
+  def timePasses(amount: FiniteDuration) = {
+    // Give dispatchers time to clear :(. See
+    // https://github.com/akka/akka/pull/24243#discussion_r160985493
+    // for some discussion on how to deal with this properly.
+    Thread.sleep(100)
+
+    val newTime = currentTime.get + amount.toMillis
+    if (log.isDebugEnabled)
+      log.debug(s"Time proceeds from ${currentTime.get} to $newTime, currently scheduled for this period:" + scheduledTasks(newTime).map(item ⇒ s"\n- $item"))
+
+    executeTasks(newTime)
+    currentTime.set(newTime)
+  }
+
+  private def scheduledTasks(runTo: Long): Seq[Item] =
+    scheduled
+      .keySet()
+      .asScala
+      .filter(_.time <= runTo)
+      .toList
+      .sortBy(_.time)
+
+  @tailrec
+  private[testkit] final def executeTasks(runTo: Long): Unit = {
+    scheduledTasks(runTo).headOption match {
+      case Some(task) ⇒
+        currentTime.set(task.time)
+        val runResult = Try(task.runnable.run())
+        scheduled.remove(task)
+
+        if (runResult.isSuccess)
+          task.interval.foreach(i ⇒ scheduled.put(task.copy(time = task.time + i.toMillis), ()))
+
+        // running the runnable might have scheduled new events
+        executeTasks(runTo)
+      case _ ⇒ // Done
+    }
+  }
+
+  private def schedule(initialDelay: FiniteDuration, interval: Option[FiniteDuration], runnable: Runnable): Cancellable = {
+    val firstTime = currentTime.get + initialDelay.toMillis
+    val item = Item(firstTime, interval, runnable)
+    log.debug("Scheduled item for {}: {}", firstTime, item)
+    scheduled.put(item, ())
+
+    if (initialDelay <= Duration.Zero)
+      executeTasks(currentTime.get)
+
+    new Cancellable {
+      var cancelled = false
+
+      override def cancel(): Boolean = {
+        val before = scheduled.size
+        scheduled.remove(item)
+        cancelled = true
+        before > scheduled.size
+      }
+
+      override def isCancelled: Boolean = cancelled
+    }
+  }
+
+  override def maxFrequency: Double = 42
+}