diff --git a/core/modules/file/file.module b/core/modules/file/file.module
index 60a15d6190..fc3ce622c7 100644
--- a/core/modules/file/file.module
+++ b/core/modules/file/file.module
@@ -48,6 +48,17 @@ function file_help($route_name, RouteMatchInterface $route_match) {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Implements hook_field_widget_info_alter().
+ */
+function file_field_widget_info_alter(array &$info) {
+  // This allows setting a valid default widget in the FileUriItem annotation.
+  // It's not strictly needed, but it's a required value on the annotation so
+  // should be a valid value.
+  // @see \Drupal\file\Plugin\Field\FieldType\FileUriItem
+  $info['uri']['field_types'][] = 'file_uri';
+}
+
 /**
  * Loads file entities from the database.
  *
diff --git a/core/modules/file/src/ComputedFileUrl.php b/core/modules/file/src/ComputedFileUrl.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2eb012edc6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/file/src/ComputedFileUrl.php
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Drupal\file;
+
+use Drupal\Core\TypedData\TypedData;
+
+/**
+ * Computed file URL property class.
+ */
+class ComputedFileUrl extends TypedData {
+
+  /**
+   * Computed root-relative file URL.
+   *
+   * @var string
+   */
+  protected $url = NULL;
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function getValue() {
+    if ($this->url !== NULL) {
+      return $this->url;
+    }
+
+    assert($this->getParent()->getEntity() instanceof FileInterface);
+
+    $uri = $this->getParent()->getEntity()->getFileUri();
+    $this->url = file_url_transform_relative(file_create_url($uri));
+
+    return $this->url;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function setValue($value, $notify = TRUE) {
+    $this->url = $value;
+
+    // Notify the parent of any changes.
+    if ($notify && isset($this->parent)) {
+      $this->parent->onChange($this->name);
+    }
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/modules/file/src/Entity/File.php b/core/modules/file/src/Entity/File.php
index a9ade9e7d6..4060b773ee 100644
--- a/core/modules/file/src/Entity/File.php
+++ b/core/modules/file/src/Entity/File.php
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ public static function baseFieldDefinitions(EntityTypeInterface $entity_type) {
       ->setLabel(t('Filename'))
       ->setDescription(t('Name of the file with no path components.'));
 
-    $fields['uri'] = BaseFieldDefinition::create('uri')
+    $fields['uri'] = BaseFieldDefinition::create('file_uri')
       ->setLabel(t('URI'))
       ->setDescription(t('The URI to access the file (either local or remote).'))
       ->setSetting('max_length', 255)
diff --git a/core/modules/file/src/Plugin/Field/FieldFormatter/FileUriFormatter.php b/core/modules/file/src/Plugin/Field/FieldFormatter/FileUriFormatter.php
index 055e32dc8b..0facb7e033 100644
--- a/core/modules/file/src/Plugin/Field/FieldFormatter/FileUriFormatter.php
+++ b/core/modules/file/src/Plugin/Field/FieldFormatter/FileUriFormatter.php
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@
  *   id = "file_uri",
  *   label = @Translation("File URI"),
  *   field_types = {
- *     "uri"
+ *     "uri",
+ *     "file_uri",
  *   }
  * )
  */
diff --git a/core/modules/file/src/Plugin/Field/FieldType/FileUriItem.php b/core/modules/file/src/Plugin/Field/FieldType/FileUriItem.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2c80a9383a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/file/src/Plugin/Field/FieldType/FileUriItem.php
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Drupal\file\Plugin\Field\FieldType;
+
+use Drupal\Core\Field\FieldStorageDefinitionInterface;
+use Drupal\Core\Field\Plugin\Field\FieldType\UriItem;
+use Drupal\Core\TypedData\DataDefinition;
+use Drupal\file\ComputedFileUrl;
+
+/**
+ * File-specific plugin implementation of a URI item to provide a full URL.
+ *
+ * @FieldType(
+ *   id = "file_uri",
+ *   label = @Translation("File URI"),
+ *   description = @Translation("An entity field containing a file URI, and a computed root-relative file URL."),
+ *   no_ui = TRUE,
+ *   default_formatter = "file_uri",
+ *   default_widget = "uri",
+ * )
+ */
+class FileUriItem extends UriItem {
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public static function propertyDefinitions(FieldStorageDefinitionInterface $field_definition) {
+    $properties = parent::propertyDefinitions($field_definition);
+
+    $properties['url'] = DataDefinition::create('uri')
+      ->setLabel(t('Full URL'))
+      ->setSetting('case_sensitive', $field_definition->getSetting('case_sensitive'))
+      ->setComputed(TRUE)
+      ->setInternal(FALSE)
+      ->setClass(ComputedFileUrl::class);
+
+    return $properties;
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/modules/file/tests/src/Kernel/FileUriItemTest.php b/core/modules/file/tests/src/Kernel/FileUriItemTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d67eba0707
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/file/tests/src/Kernel/FileUriItemTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Drupal\Tests\file\Kernel;
+
+use Drupal\file\Entity\File;
+
+/**
+ * File URI field item test.
+ *
+ * @group file
+ *
+ * @see \Drupal\file\Plugin\Field\FieldType\FileUriItem
+ * @see \Drupal\file\FileUrl
+ */
+class FileUriItemTest extends FileManagedUnitTestBase {
+
+  /**
+   * Tests the file entity override of the URI field.
+   */
+  public function testCustomFileUriField() {
+    $uri = 'public://druplicon.txt';
+
+    // Create a new file entity.
+    $file = File::create([
+      'uid' => 1,
+      'filename' => 'druplicon.txt',
+      'uri' => $uri,
+      'filemime' => 'text/plain',
+      'status' => FILE_STATUS_PERMANENT,
+    ]);
+    file_put_contents($file->getFileUri(), 'hello world');
+
+    $file->save();
+
+    $this->assertSame($uri, $file->uri->value);
+    $expected_url = base_path() . $this->siteDirectory . '/files/druplicon.txt';
+    $this->assertSame($expected_url, $file->uri->url);
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/modules/file/tests/src/Unit/ComputedFileUrlTest.php b/core/modules/file/tests/src/Unit/ComputedFileUrlTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8e2a4a469e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/file/tests/src/Unit/ComputedFileUrlTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Drupal\Tests\file\Unit;
+
+use Drupal\Core\Field\FieldItemInterface;
+use Drupal\Core\TypedData\DataDefinitionInterface;
+use Drupal\file\FileInterface;
+use Drupal\file\ComputedFileUrl;
+use Drupal\KernelTests\KernelTestBase;
+
+/**
+ * @coversDefaultClass \Drupal\file\ComputedFileUrl
+ *
+ * @group file
+ */
+class ComputedFileUrlTest extends KernelTestBase {
+
+  /**
+   * The test URL to use.
+   *
+   * @var string
+   */
+  protected $testUrl = 'public://druplicon.txt';
+
+  /**
+   * @covers ::getValue
+   */
+  public function testGetValue() {
+    $entity = $this->prophesize(FileInterface::class);
+    $entity->getFileUri()
+      ->willReturn($this->testUrl);
+
+    $parent = $this->prophesize(FieldItemInterface::class);
+    $parent->getEntity()
+      ->shouldBeCalledTimes(2)
+      ->willReturn($entity->reveal());
+
+    $definition = $this->prophesize(DataDefinitionInterface::class);
+
+    $typed_data = new ComputedFileUrl($definition->reveal(), $this->randomMachineName(), $parent->reveal());
+
+    $expected = base_path() . $this->siteDirectory . '/files/druplicon.txt';
+
+    $this->assertSame($expected, $typed_data->getValue());
+    // Do this a second time to confirm the same value is returned but the value
+    // isn't retrieved from the parent entity again.
+    $this->assertSame($expected, $typed_data->getValue());
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @covers ::setValue
+   */
+  public function testSetValue() {
+    $name = $this->randomMachineName();
+    $parent = $this->prophesize(FieldItemInterface::class);
+    $parent->onChange($name)
+      ->shouldBeCalled();
+
+    $definition = $this->prophesize(DataDefinitionInterface::class);
+    $typed_data = new ComputedFileUrl($definition->reveal(), $name, $parent->reveal());
+
+    // Setting the value explicitly should mean the parent entity is never
+    // called into.
+    $typed_data->setValue($this->testUrl);
+
+    $this->assertSame($this->testUrl, $typed_data->getValue());
+    // Do this a second time to confirm the same value is returned but the value
+    // isn't retrieved from the parent entity again.
+    $this->assertSame($this->testUrl, $typed_data->getValue());
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @covers ::setValue
+   */
+  public function testSetValueNoNotify() {
+    $name = $this->randomMachineName();
+    $parent = $this->prophesize(FieldItemInterface::class);
+    $parent->onChange($name)
+      ->shouldNotBeCalled();
+
+    $definition = $this->prophesize(DataDefinitionInterface::class);
+    $typed_data = new ComputedFileUrl($definition->reveal(), $name, $parent->reveal());
+
+    // Setting the value should explicitly should mean the parent entity is
+    // never called into.
+    $typed_data->setValue($this->testUrl, FALSE);
+
+    $this->assertSame($this->testUrl, $typed_data->getValue());
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/modules/hal/hal.services.yml b/core/modules/hal/hal.services.yml
index b2c898fc56..ca28f522b4 100644
--- a/core/modules/hal/hal.services.yml
+++ b/core/modules/hal/hal.services.yml
@@ -12,11 +12,6 @@ services:
     class: Drupal\hal\Normalizer\FieldNormalizer
     tags:
       - { name: normalizer, priority: 10 }
-  serializer.normalizer.file_entity.hal:
-    class: Drupal\hal\Normalizer\FileEntityNormalizer
-    tags:
-      - { name: normalizer, priority: 20 }
-    arguments: ['@entity.manager', '@http_client', '@hal.link_manager', '@module_handler']
   serializer.normalizer.timestamp_item.hal:
    class: Drupal\hal\Normalizer\TimestampItemNormalizer
    tags:
diff --git a/core/modules/hal/src/Normalizer/FileEntityNormalizer.php b/core/modules/hal/src/Normalizer/FileEntityNormalizer.php
deleted file mode 100644
index ec870e9e14..0000000000
--- a/core/modules/hal/src/Normalizer/FileEntityNormalizer.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,70 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-
-namespace Drupal\hal\Normalizer;
-
-use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityManagerInterface;
-use Drupal\Core\Extension\ModuleHandlerInterface;
-use Drupal\hal\LinkManager\LinkManagerInterface;
-use GuzzleHttp\ClientInterface;
-
-/**
- * Converts the Drupal entity object structure to a HAL array structure.
- */
-class FileEntityNormalizer extends ContentEntityNormalizer {
-
-  /**
-   * The interface or class that this Normalizer supports.
-   *
-   * @var string
-   */
-  protected $supportedInterfaceOrClass = 'Drupal\file\FileInterface';
-
-  /**
-   * The HTTP client.
-   *
-   * @var \GuzzleHttp\ClientInterface
-   */
-  protected $httpClient;
-
-  /**
-   * Constructs a FileEntityNormalizer object.
-   *
-   * @param \Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityManagerInterface $entity_manager
-   *   The entity manager.
-   * @param \GuzzleHttp\ClientInterface $http_client
-   *   The HTTP Client.
-   * @param \Drupal\hal\LinkManager\LinkManagerInterface $link_manager
-   *   The hypermedia link manager.
-   * @param \Drupal\Core\Extension\ModuleHandlerInterface $module_handler
-   *   The module handler.
-   */
-  public function __construct(EntityManagerInterface $entity_manager, ClientInterface $http_client, LinkManagerInterface $link_manager, ModuleHandlerInterface $module_handler) {
-    parent::__construct($link_manager, $entity_manager, $module_handler);
-
-    $this->httpClient = $http_client;
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * {@inheritdoc}
-   */
-  public function normalize($entity, $format = NULL, array $context = []) {
-    $data = parent::normalize($entity, $format, $context);
-    // Replace the file url with a full url for the file.
-    $data['uri'][0]['value'] = $this->getEntityUri($entity);
-
-    return $data;
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * {@inheritdoc}
-   */
-  public function denormalize($data, $class, $format = NULL, array $context = []) {
-    $file_data = (string) $this->httpClient->get($data['uri'][0]['value'])->getBody();
-
-    $path = 'temporary://' . drupal_basename($data['uri'][0]['value']);
-    $data['uri'] = file_unmanaged_save_data($file_data, $path);
-
-    return $this->entityManager->getStorage('file')->create($data);
-  }
-
-}
diff --git a/core/modules/hal/tests/src/Functional/EntityResource/Media/MediaHalJsonAnonTest.php b/core/modules/hal/tests/src/Functional/EntityResource/Media/MediaHalJsonAnonTest.php
index c71b54e6e6..66e1cc08f3 100644
--- a/core/modules/hal/tests/src/Functional/EntityResource/Media/MediaHalJsonAnonTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/hal/tests/src/Functional/EntityResource/Media/MediaHalJsonAnonTest.php
@@ -86,11 +86,6 @@ protected function getExpectedNormalizedEntity() {
               ],
             ],
             'lang' => 'en',
-            'uri' => [
-              [
-                'value' => $file->url(),
-              ],
-            ],
             'uuid' => [
               [
                 'value' => $file->uuid(),
@@ -126,11 +121,6 @@ protected function getExpectedNormalizedEntity() {
               ],
             ],
             'lang' => 'en',
-            'uri' => [
-              [
-                'value' => $thumbnail->url(),
-              ],
-            ],
             'uuid' => [
               [
                 'value' => $thumbnail->uuid(),
diff --git a/core/modules/hal/tests/src/Functional/FileDenormalizeTest.php b/core/modules/hal/tests/src/Functional/FileDenormalizeTest.php
deleted file mode 100644
index 05ee234893..0000000000
--- a/core/modules/hal/tests/src/Functional/FileDenormalizeTest.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,75 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-
-namespace Drupal\Tests\hal\Functional;
-
-use Drupal\file\Entity\File;
-use Drupal\Tests\BrowserTestBase;
-
-/**
- * Tests that file entities can be denormalized in HAL.
- *
- * @group hal
- * @see \Drupal\hal\Normalizer\FileEntityNormalizer
- */
-class FileDenormalizeTest extends BrowserTestBase {
-
-  /**
-   * Modules to enable.
-   *
-   * @var array
-   */
-  public static $modules = ['hal', 'file', 'node'];
-
-  /**
-   * Tests file entity denormalization.
-   */
-  public function testFileDenormalize() {
-    $file_params = [
-      'filename' => 'test_1.txt',
-      'uri' => 'public://test_1.txt',
-      'filemime' => 'text/plain',
-      'status' => FILE_STATUS_PERMANENT,
-    ];
-    // Create a new file entity.
-    $file = File::create($file_params);
-    file_put_contents($file->getFileUri(), 'hello world');
-    $file->save();
-
-    $serializer = \Drupal::service('serializer');
-    $normalized_data = $serializer->normalize($file, 'hal_json');
-    $denormalized = $serializer->denormalize($normalized_data, 'Drupal\file\Entity\File', 'hal_json');
-
-    $this->assertTrue($denormalized instanceof File, 'A File instance was created.');
-
-    $this->assertIdentical('temporary://' . $file->getFilename(), $denormalized->getFileUri(), 'The expected file URI was found.');
-    $this->assertTrue(file_exists($denormalized->getFileUri()), 'The temporary file was found.');
-
-    $this->assertIdentical($file->uuid(), $denormalized->uuid(), 'The expected UUID was found');
-    $this->assertIdentical($file->getMimeType(), $denormalized->getMimeType(), 'The expected MIME type was found.');
-    $this->assertIdentical($file->getFilename(), $denormalized->getFilename(), 'The expected filename was found.');
-    $this->assertTrue($denormalized->isPermanent(), 'The file has a permanent status.');
-
-    // Try to denormalize with the file uri only.
-    $file_name = 'test_2.txt';
-    $file_path = 'public://' . $file_name;
-
-    file_put_contents($file_path, 'hello world');
-    $file_uri = file_create_url($file_path);
-
-    $data = [
-      'uri' => [
-        ['value' => $file_uri],
-      ],
-    ];
-
-    $denormalized = $serializer->denormalize($data, 'Drupal\file\Entity\File', 'hal_json');
-
-    $this->assertIdentical('temporary://' . $file_name, $denormalized->getFileUri(), 'The expected file URI was found.');
-    $this->assertTrue(file_exists($denormalized->getFileUri()), 'The temporary file was found.');
-
-    $this->assertIdentical('text/plain', $denormalized->getMimeType(), 'The expected MIME type was found.');
-    $this->assertIdentical($file_name, $denormalized->getFilename(), 'The expected filename was found.');
-    $this->assertFalse($denormalized->isPermanent(), 'The file has a permanent status.');
-  }
-
-}
diff --git a/core/modules/hal/tests/src/Kernel/FileNormalizeTest.php b/core/modules/hal/tests/src/Kernel/FileNormalizeTest.php
index c4b67f54e3..355c09d1a6 100644
--- a/core/modules/hal/tests/src/Kernel/FileNormalizeTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/hal/tests/src/Kernel/FileNormalizeTest.php
@@ -44,7 +44,10 @@ public function testNormalize() {
 
     $expected_array = [
       'uri' => [
-        ['value' => file_create_url($file->getFileUri())],
+        [
+          'value' => $file->getFileUri(),
+          'url' => file_url_transform_relative(file_create_url($file->getFileUri())),
+        ],
       ],
     ];