diff --git a/spring-boot-test-autoconfigure/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/test/autoconfigure/orm/jpa/TestDatabaseAutoConfiguration.java b/spring-boot-test-autoconfigure/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/test/autoconfigure/orm/jpa/TestDatabaseAutoConfiguration.java
index 2f2e13df14..e50dc4f2f7 100644
--- a/spring-boot-test-autoconfigure/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/test/autoconfigure/orm/jpa/TestDatabaseAutoConfiguration.java
+++ b/spring-boot-test-autoconfigure/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/test/autoconfigure/orm/jpa/TestDatabaseAutoConfiguration.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2012-2016 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2012-2017 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -193,9 +193,10 @@ public class TestDatabaseAutoConfiguration {
 				connection = EmbeddedDatabaseConnection.get(getClass().getClassLoader());
 			}
 			Assert.state(connection != EmbeddedDatabaseConnection.NONE,
-					"Cannot determine embedded database for tests. If you want "
-							+ "an embedded database please put a supported one "
-							+ "on the classpath.");
+					"Failed to replace DataSource with an embedded database for tests. If "
+							+ "you want an embedded database please put a supported one "
+							+ "on the classpath or tune the replace attribute of "
+							+ "@AutoconfigureTestDatabase.");
 			return new EmbeddedDatabaseBuilder().generateUniqueName(true)
 					.setType(connection.getType()).build();
 		}
diff --git a/spring-boot-test-autoconfigure/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/test/autoconfigure/orm/jpa/TestDatabaseAutoConfigurationNoEmbeddedTests.java b/spring-boot-test-autoconfigure/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/test/autoconfigure/orm/jpa/TestDatabaseAutoConfigurationNoEmbeddedTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..925db0f034
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-boot-test-autoconfigure/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/test/autoconfigure/orm/jpa/TestDatabaseAutoConfigurationNoEmbeddedTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2012-2017 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.boot.test.autoconfigure.orm.jpa;
+
+import javax.sql.DataSource;
+
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
+
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException;
+import org.springframework.boot.test.util.EnvironmentTestUtils;
+import org.springframework.boot.testutil.ClassPathExclusions;
+import org.springframework.boot.testutil.FilteredClassPathRunner;
+import org.springframework.context.ConfigurableApplicationContext;
+import org.springframework.context.annotation.AnnotationConfigApplicationContext;
+import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
+import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;
+
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+
+/**
+ * Specific tests for {@link TestDatabaseAutoConfiguration} when no embedded database is
+ * available.
+ *
+ * @author Stephane Nicoll
+ */
+@RunWith(FilteredClassPathRunner.class)
+@ClassPathExclusions({ "h2-*.jar", "hsqldb-*.jar", "derby-*.jar" })
+public class TestDatabaseAutoConfigurationNoEmbeddedTests {
+
+	private ConfigurableApplicationContext context;
+
+	@After
+	public void closeContext() {
+		if (this.context != null) {
+			this.context.close();
+		}
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void applyAnyReplace() {
+		try {
+			load(ExistingDataSourceConfiguration.class);
+		}
+		catch (BeanCreationException ex) {
+			String message = ex.getMessage();
+			assertThat(message).contains(
+					"Failed to replace DataSource with an embedded database for tests.");
+			assertThat(message).contains(
+					"If you want an embedded database please put a supported one on the "
+							+ "classpath");
+			assertThat(message).contains(
+					"or tune the replace attribute of @AutoconfigureTestDatabase.");
+		}
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void applyNoReplace() {
+		load(ExistingDataSourceConfiguration.class, "spring.test.database.replace=NONE");
+		assertThat(this.context.getBeansOfType(DataSource.class)).hasSize(1);
+		assertThat(this.context.getBean(DataSource.class)).isSameAs(
+				this.context.getBean("myCustomDataSource"));
+	}
+
+	public void load(Class<?> config, String... environment) {
+		this.context = doLoad(config, environment);
+	}
+
+	public ConfigurableApplicationContext doLoad(Class<?> config, String... environment) {
+		AnnotationConfigApplicationContext ctx = new AnnotationConfigApplicationContext();
+		if (config != null) {
+			ctx.register(config);
+		}
+		ctx.register(TestDatabaseAutoConfiguration.class);
+		EnvironmentTestUtils.addEnvironment(ctx, environment);
+		ctx.refresh();
+		return ctx;
+	}
+
+	@Configuration
+	static class ExistingDataSourceConfiguration {
+
+		@Bean
+		public DataSource myCustomDataSource() {
+			return mock(DataSource.class);
+		}
+
+	}
+
+}