diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/DatabaseStorageController.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/DatabaseStorageController.php
index 16b5a56..5af5328 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/DatabaseStorageController.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/DatabaseStorageController.php
@@ -444,6 +444,10 @@ public function create(array $values) {
       $entity->{$this->uuidKey} = $uuid->generate();
     }
 
+    // Modules might need to add or change the data intially held by the new
+    // entity object, for instance to fill-in default values.
+    drupal_alter(array($this->entityType . '_entity', 'entity'), $entity);
+
     return $entity;
   }
 
diff --git a/core/modules/field/field.attach.inc b/core/modules/field/field.attach.inc
index 1a006ec..e22bd5c 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/field.attach.inc
+++ b/core/modules/field/field.attach.inc
@@ -1172,7 +1172,6 @@ function field_attach_presave($entity_type, $entity) {
  *   it leaves unspecified.
  */
 function field_attach_insert($entity_type, EntityInterface $entity) {
-  _field_invoke_default('insert', $entity_type, $entity);
   _field_invoke('insert', $entity_type, $entity);
 
   // Let any module insert field data before the storage engine, accumulating
diff --git a/core/modules/field/field.default.inc b/core/modules/field/field.default.inc
index d37d0ac..9ac14bb 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/field.default.inc
+++ b/core/modules/field/field.default.inc
@@ -54,39 +54,6 @@ function field_default_validate($entity_type, $entity, $field, $instance, $langc
 }
 
 /**
- * Inserts a default value if no $entity->$field_name entry was provided.
- *
- * This can happen with programmatic saves, or on form-based creation where
- * the current user doesn't have 'edit' permission for the field. This is the
- * default field 'insert' operation.
- *
- * @param $entity_type
- *   The type of $entity.
- * @param $entity
- *   The entity for the operation.
- * @param $field
- *   The field structure for the operation.
- * @param $instance
- *   The instance structure for $field in $entity's bundle.
- * @param $langcode
- *   The language associated with $items.
- * @param $items
- *   An array that this function will populate with default values.
- */
-function field_default_insert($entity_type, $entity, $field, $instance, $langcode, &$items) {
-  // _field_invoke() populates $items with an empty array if the $entity has no
-  // entry for the field, so we check on the $entity itself.
-  // We also check that the current field translation is actually defined before
-  // assigning it a default value. This way we ensure that only the intended
-  // languages get a default value. Otherwise we could have default values for
-  // not yet open languages.
-  if (empty($entity) || (!isset($entity->{$field['field_name']}[$langcode]) && !property_exists($entity, $field['field_name'])) ||
-    (isset($entity->{$field['field_name']}[$langcode]) && count($entity->{$field['field_name']}[$langcode]) == 0)) {
-    $items = field_get_default_value($entity_type, $entity, $field, $instance, $langcode);
-  }
-}
-
-/**
  * Copies source field values into the entity to be prepared.
  *
  * @param $entity_type
diff --git a/core/modules/field/field.module b/core/modules/field/field.module
index 01b0122..60de336 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/field.module
+++ b/core/modules/field/field.module
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@
  * Attach custom data fields to Drupal entities.
  */
 
-use Drupal\Core\Template\Attribute;
+use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\Query\QueryFactory;
+use Drupal\Core\Template\Attribute;
 
 /*
  * Load all public Field API functions. Drupal currently has no
@@ -387,6 +388,42 @@ function field_data_type_info() {
 }
 
 /**
+ * Implements hook_entity_alter().
+ */
+function field_entity_alter(EntityInterface $entity) {
+  foreach ($entity->getTranslationLanguages() as $langcode => $language) {
+    field_populate_default_values($entity, $langcode);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Inserts a default value if no $entity->$field_name entry was provided.
+ *
+ * This can happen with programmatic saves, or on form-based creation where
+ * the current user doesn't have 'edit' permission for the field. This is the
+ * default field 'insert' operation.
+ *
+ * @param $entity
+ *   The entity for the operation.
+ * @param $langcode
+ *   (optional) The field language to fill-in with the default value. Defaults
+ *   to the entity language.
+ */
+function field_populate_default_values(EntityInterface $entity, $langcode = NULL) {
+  $entity_type = $entity->entityType();
+  $langcode = $langcode ?: $entity->language()->langcode;
+
+  foreach (field_info_instances($entity_type, $entity->bundle()) as $field_name => $instance) {
+    $field = field_info_field($field_name);
+    $field_langcode = field_is_translatable($entity_type, $field) ? $langcode : LANGUAGE_NOT_SPECIFIED;
+    if (empty($entity->{$field_name}) || !array_key_exists($field_langcode, $entity->{$field_name})) {
+      $items = field_get_default_value($entity_type, $entity, $field, $instance, $field_langcode);
+      $entity->{$field_name}[$field_langcode] = $items;
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+/**
  * Implements hook_entity_field_info() to define all configured fields.
  */
 function field_entity_field_info($entity_type) {
diff --git a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FieldAttachStorageTest.php b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FieldAttachStorageTest.php
index a4be944..a5e8e07 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FieldAttachStorageTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FieldAttachStorageTest.php
@@ -340,9 +340,12 @@ function testFieldAttachSaveMissingDataDefaultValue() {
     $this->instance['default_value_function'] = 'field_test_default_value';
     field_update_instance($this->instance);
 
+    // Verify that fields are populated with default values.
     $entity_type = 'test_entity';
     $entity_init = field_test_create_entity();
     $langcode = LANGUAGE_NOT_SPECIFIED;
+    $default = field_test_default_value($entity_type, $entity_init, $this->field, $this->instance);
+    $this->assertEqual($entity_init->{$this->field_name}[$langcode], $default, 'Default field value correctly populated.');
 
     // Insert: Field is NULL.
     $entity = clone($entity_init);
@@ -350,6 +353,7 @@ function testFieldAttachSaveMissingDataDefaultValue() {
     field_attach_insert($entity_type, $entity);
 
     $entity = clone($entity_init);
+    $entity->{$this->field_name} = array();
     field_attach_load($entity_type, array($entity->ftid => $entity));
     $this->assertTrue(empty($entity->{$this->field_name}[$langcode]), 'Insert: NULL field results in no value saved');
 
@@ -359,9 +363,14 @@ function testFieldAttachSaveMissingDataDefaultValue() {
     field_attach_insert($entity_type, $entity);
 
     $entity = clone($entity_init);
+    $entity->{$this->field_name} = array();
     field_attach_load($entity_type, array($entity->ftid => $entity));
-    $values = field_test_default_value($entity_type, $entity, $this->field, $this->instance);
-    $this->assertEqual($entity->{$this->field_name}[$langcode], $values, 'Insert: missing field results in default value saved');
+    $this->assertEqual($entity->{$this->field_name}[$langcode], $default, 'Insert: missing field results in default value saved');
+
+    // Verify that prepopulated field values are not overwritten by defaults.
+    $value = array(array('value' => $default[0]['value'] - mt_rand(1, 127)));
+    $entity = entity_create('test_entity', array('fttype' => $entity_init->bundle(), $this->field_name => array($langcode => $value)));
+    $this->assertEqual($entity->{$this->field_name}[$langcode], $value, 'Prepopulated field value correctly maintained.');
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FormTest.php b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FormTest.php
index b11638f..65fd25b 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FormTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FormTest.php
@@ -69,7 +69,6 @@ function testFieldFormSingle() {
     $this->assertText($token_description, 'Token replacement for description is displayed');
     $this->assertFieldByName("{$this->field_name}[$langcode][0][value]", '', 'Widget is displayed');
     $this->assertNoField("{$this->field_name}[$langcode][1][value]", 'No extraneous widget is displayed');
-    // TODO : check that the widget is populated with default value ?
 
     // Check that hook_field_widget_form_alter() does not believe this is the
     // default value form.
@@ -113,7 +112,34 @@ function testFieldFormSingle() {
     entity_get_controller('test_entity')->resetCache(array($id));
     $entity = field_test_entity_test_load($id);
     $this->assertIdentical($entity->{$this->field_name}, array(), 'Field was emptied');
+  }
 
+  /**
+   * Tests field widget default values on entity forms.
+   */
+  function testFieldFormDefaultValue() {
+    $this->field = $this->field_single;
+    $this->field_name = $this->field['field_name'];
+    $this->instance['field_name'] = $this->field_name;
+    $default = rand(1, 127);
+    $this->instance['default_value'] = array(array('value' => $default));
+    field_create_field($this->field);
+    field_create_instance($this->instance);
+    $langcode = LANGUAGE_NOT_SPECIFIED;
+
+    // Display creation form.
+    $this->drupalGet('test-entity/add/test_bundle');
+    // Test that the default value is displayed correctly.
+    $this->assertFieldByXpath("//input[@name='{$this->field_name}[$langcode][0][value]' and @value='$default']");
+
+    // Try to submit an empty value.
+    $edit = array("{$this->field_name}[$langcode][0][value]" => '');
+    $this->drupalPost(NULL, $edit, t('Save'));
+    preg_match('|test-entity/manage/(\d+)/edit|', $this->url, $match);
+    $id = $match[1];
+    $this->assertRaw(t('test_entity @id has been created.', array('@id' => $id)), 'Entity was created.');
+    $entity = field_test_entity_test_load($id);
+    $this->assertTrue(empty($entity->{$this->field_name}), 'Field is now empty.');
   }
 
   function testFieldFormSingleRequired() {
diff --git a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/TranslationTest.php b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/TranslationTest.php
index 8f813c0..1c324f5 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/TranslationTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/TranslationTest.php
@@ -242,6 +242,52 @@ function testTranslatableFieldSaveLoad() {
       }
       $this->assertTrue($result, format_string('%language translation correctly handled.', array('%language' => $langcode)));
     }
+
+    // Test default values.
+    $field_name_default = drupal_strtolower($this->randomName() . '_field_name');
+    $field = $this->field;
+    $field['field_name'] = $field_name_default;
+    $instance = $this->instance;
+    $instance['field_name'] = $field_name_default;
+    $default = rand(1, 127);
+    $instance['default_value'] = array(array('value' => $default));
+    field_create_field($field);
+    field_create_instance($instance);
+    $translation_langcodes = array_slice($available_langcodes, 0, 2);
+    asort($translation_langcodes);
+    $translation_langcodes = array_values($translation_langcodes);
+
+    $eid++;
+    $evid++;
+    $values = array('eid' => $eid, 'evid' => $evid, 'fttype' => $instance['bundle'], 'langcode' => $translation_langcodes[0]);
+    foreach ($translation_langcodes as $langcode) {
+      $values[$this->field_name][$langcode] = $this->_generateTestFieldValues($this->field['cardinality']);
+    }
+    $entity = entity_create($entity_type, $values);
+
+    ksort($entity->{$field_name_default});
+    $field_langcodes = array_keys($entity->{$field_name_default});
+    $this->assertEqual($translation_langcodes, $field_langcodes, 'Missing translations did not get a default value.');
+
+    foreach ($entity->{$field_name_default} as $langcode => $items) {
+      $this->assertEqual($items, $instance['default_value'], format_string('Default value correctly populated for language %language.', array('%language' => $langcode)));
+    }
+
+    // Check that explicit empty values are not overridden with default values.
+    foreach (array(NULL, array()) as $empty_items) {
+      $eid++;
+      $evid++;
+      $values = array('eid' => $eid, 'evid' => $evid, 'fttype' => $instance['bundle'], 'langcode' => $translation_langcodes[0]);
+      foreach ($translation_langcodes as $langcode) {
+        $values[$this->field_name][$langcode] = $this->_generateTestFieldValues($this->field['cardinality']);
+        $values[$field_name_default][$langcode] = $empty_items;
+      }
+      $entity = entity_create($entity_type, $values);
+
+      foreach ($entity->{$field_name_default} as $langcode => $items) {
+        $this->assertEqual($items, $empty_items, format_string('Empty value correctly populated for language %language.', array('%language' => $langcode)));
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/field/tests/modules/field_test/field_test.entity.inc b/core/modules/field/tests/modules/field_test/field_test.entity.inc
index 517f5cb..bcfd7a0 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/tests/modules/field_test/field_test.entity.inc
+++ b/core/modules/field/tests/modules/field_test/field_test.entity.inc
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ function field_test_delete_bundle($bundle) {
  * Creates a basic test_entity entity.
  */
 function field_test_create_entity($id = 1, $vid = 1, $bundle = 'test_bundle', $label = '') {
-  $entity = entity_create('test_entity', array());
+  $entity = entity_create('test_entity', array('fttype' => $bundle));
   // Only set id and vid properties if they don't come as NULL (creation form).
   if (isset($id)) {
     $entity->ftid = $id;
@@ -131,7 +131,6 @@ function field_test_create_entity($id = 1, $vid = 1, $bundle = 'test_bundle', $l
     // Flag to make sure that the provided vid is used for a new revision.
     $entity->use_provided_revision_id = $vid;
   }
-  $entity->fttype = $bundle;
 
   $label = !empty($label) ? $label : $bundle . ' label';
   $entity->ftlabel = $label;