diff --git a/src/components/app/app-root.ts b/src/components/app/app-root.ts
index 07800a4488..38c52634e3 100644
--- a/src/components/app/app-root.ts
+++ b/src/components/app/app-root.ts
@@ -118,10 +118,6 @@ export class IonicApp extends Ion implements OnInit {
   _getActivePortal(): OverlayPortal {
     const defaultPortal = this._overlayPortal;
     const modalPortal = this._modalPortal;
-
-    assert(defaultPortal, 'default must be valid');
-        assert(modalPortal, 'modal must be valid');
-
     const hasModal = modalPortal.length() > 0;
     const hasDefault = defaultPortal.length() > 0;
 
diff --git a/src/components/app/app.ts b/src/components/app/app.ts
index c08f5d9af7..01dfbf1b4f 100644
--- a/src/components/app/app.ts
+++ b/src/components/app/app.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { EventEmitter, Injectable } from '@angular/core';
+import { EventEmitter, Injectable, Optional } from '@angular/core';
 import { Title } from '@angular/platform-browser';
 
 import { AppPortal, IonicApp } from './app-root';
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import { isNav, isTabs, NavOptions, DIRECTION_FORWARD, DIRECTION_BACK } from '..
 import { NavController } from '../../navigation/nav-controller';
 import { Platform } from '../../platform/platform';
 import { ViewController } from '../../navigation/view-controller';
-
+import { MenuController } from '../menu/menu-controller';
 
 /**
  * @name App
@@ -67,18 +67,19 @@ export class App {
 
   constructor(
     private _config: Config,
-    private _platform: Platform
+    private _platform: Platform,
+    @Optional() private _menuCtrl?: MenuController
   ) {
     // listen for hardware back button events
     // register this back button action with a default priority
-    _platform.registerBackButtonAction(this.navPop.bind(this));
+    _platform.registerBackButtonAction(this.goBack.bind(this));
     this._disableScrollAssist = _config.getBoolean('disableScrollAssist', false);
 
     runInDev(() => {
       // During developement, navPop can be triggered by calling
       // window.ClickBackButton();
       if (!window['HWBackButton']) {
-        window['HWBackButton'] = this.navPop.bind(this);
+        window['HWBackButton'] = this.goBack.bind(this);
       }
     });
   }
@@ -233,6 +234,23 @@ export class App {
     return portal.insertPages(-1, [enteringView], opts);
   }
 
+  goBack(): Promise<any> {
+    if (this._menuCtrl && this._menuCtrl.isOpen()) {
+      return this._menuCtrl.close();
+    }
+
+    let navPromise = this.navPop();
+    if (navPromise === null) {
+      // no views to go back to
+      // let's exit the app
+      if (this._config.getBoolean('navExitApp', true)) {
+        console.debug('app, goBack exitApp');
+        this._platform.exitApp();
+      }
+    }
+    return navPromise;
+  }
+
   /**
    * @private
    */
@@ -275,7 +293,7 @@ export class App {
     const portal = this._appRoot._getActivePortal();
 
     // first check if the root navigation has any overlays
-    // opened in it's portal, like alert/actionsheet/popup
+    // opened in it's portal, like alert/actionsheet/popup/modals
     if (portal) {
       // there is an overlay view in the portal
       // let's pop this one off to go back
@@ -285,17 +303,7 @@ export class App {
 
     // next get the active nav, check itself and climb up all
     // of its parent navs until it finds a nav that can pop
-    let navPromise = navPop(this.getActiveNav());
-    if (navPromise === null) {
-      // no views to go back to
-      // let's exit the app
-      if (this._config.getBoolean('navExitApp', true)) {
-        console.debug('app, goBack exitApp');
-        this._platform.exitApp();
-      }
-    }
-
-    return navPromise;
+    return navPop(this.getActiveNav());
   }
 
 }
diff --git a/src/components/menu/menu-controller.ts b/src/components/menu/menu-controller.ts
index 9638277e6a..b24245f932 100644
--- a/src/components/menu/menu-controller.ts
+++ b/src/components/menu/menu-controller.ts
@@ -211,12 +211,17 @@ export class MenuController {
   }
 
   /**
-   * @param {string} [menuId]  Optionally get the menu by its id, or side.
-   * @return {boolean} Returns true if the menu is currently open, otherwise false.
+   * @param {string} [menuId] Optionally get the menu by its id, or side.
+   * @return {boolean} Returns true if the specified menu is currently open, otherwise false.
+   * If the menuId is not specified, it returns true if ANY menu is currenly open.
    */
   isOpen(menuId?: string): boolean {
-    let menu = this.get(menuId);
-    return menu && menu.isOpen || false;
+    if (menuId) {
+      var menu = this.get(menuId);
+      return menu && menu.isOpen || false;
+    } else {
+      return !!this.getOpen();
+    }
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/src/components/nav/nav.ts b/src/components/nav/nav.ts
index 6138b73fc8..40a23371f1 100644
--- a/src/components/nav/nav.ts
+++ b/src/components/nav/nav.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { DeepLinker } from '../../navigation/deep-linker';
 import { GestureController } from '../../gestures/gesture-controller';
 import { isTrueProperty } from '../../util/util';
 import { Keyboard } from '../../util/keyboard';
+import { NavController } from '../../navigation/nav-controller';
 import { NavControllerBase } from '../../navigation/nav-controller-base';
 import { NavOptions } from '../../navigation/nav-util';
 import { TransitionController } from '../../transitions/transition-controller';
@@ -57,7 +58,7 @@ export class Nav extends NavControllerBase implements AfterViewInit {
 
   constructor(
     @Optional() viewCtrl: ViewController,
-    @Optional() parent: NavControllerBase,
+    @Optional() parent: NavController,
     app: App,
     config: Config,
     keyboard: Keyboard,
diff --git a/src/navigation/nav-controller-base.ts b/src/navigation/nav-controller-base.ts
index fcdb828c39..3d1e318f08 100644
--- a/src/navigation/nav-controller-base.ts
+++ b/src/navigation/nav-controller-base.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import { DomController } from '../util/dom-controller';
  */
 export class NavControllerBase extends Ion implements NavController {
 
-  _children: any[] = [];
+  _children: NavController[] = [];
   _ids: number = -1;
   _init = false;
   _isPortal: boolean;
@@ -883,15 +883,15 @@ export class NavControllerBase extends Ion implements NavController {
     this._app.viewWillUnload.emit(view);
   }
 
-  getActiveChildNav(): any {
+  getActiveChildNav(): NavController {
     return this._children[this._children.length - 1];
   }
 
-  registerChildNav(nav: any) {
+  registerChildNav(nav: NavController) {
     this._children.push(nav);
   }
 
-  unregisterChildNav(nav: any) {
+  unregisterChildNav(nav: NavController) {
     removeArrayItem(this._children, nav);
   }
 
diff --git a/src/navigation/nav-controller.ts b/src/navigation/nav-controller.ts
index 2a8ea3b25a..6098ac9252 100644
--- a/src/navigation/nav-controller.ts
+++ b/src/navigation/nav-controller.ts
@@ -597,4 +597,8 @@ export abstract class NavController {
    */
   abstract canGoBack(): boolean;
 
+  /**
+   * @private
+   */
+  abstract registerChildNav(nav: NavController);
 }