diff --git a/framework/filters/auth/AuthMethod.php b/framework/filters/auth/AuthMethod.php
index 328369ba6f..798c2a4660 100644
--- a/framework/filters/auth/AuthMethod.php
+++ b/framework/filters/auth/AuthMethod.php
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ abstract class AuthMethod extends ActionFilter implements AuthInterface
     /**
      * @var array list of action IDs that this filter will be applied to, but auth failure will not lead to error.
      * It may be used for actions, that are allowed for public, but return some additional data for authenticated users.
+     * Defaults to empty, meaning authentication is not optional for any action.
      * @see isOptional
      * @since 2.0.7
      */
@@ -90,23 +91,16 @@ abstract class AuthMethod extends ActionFilter implements AuthInterface
     }
 
     /**
-     * Checks, whether the $action is optional
+     * Checks, whether authentication is optional for the given action.
      *
      * @param Action $action
      * @return boolean
      * @see optional
      * @since 2.0.7
      */
-    protected function isOptional($action) {
+    protected function isOptional($action)
+    {
         $id = $this->getActionId($action);
         return in_array($id, $this->optional, true);
     }
-
-    /**
-     * {@inheritdoc}
-     */
-    protected function isActive($action)
-    {
-        return parent::isActive($action) || $this->isOptional($action);
-    }
 }
diff --git a/tests/framework/filters/auth/AuthTest.php b/tests/framework/filters/auth/AuthTest.php
index 6983fcfb15..8c603d47b6 100644
--- a/tests/framework/filters/auth/AuthTest.php
+++ b/tests/framework/filters/auth/AuthTest.php
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 namespace yiiunit\framework\filters\auth;
 
 use Yii;
+use yii\base\Action;
+use yii\filters\auth\AuthMethod;
 use yii\filters\auth\HttpBasicAuth;
 use yii\filters\auth\HttpBearerAuth;
 use yii\filters\auth\QueryParamAuth;
@@ -140,6 +142,65 @@ class AuthTest extends \yiiunit\TestCase
         $this->authOptional($token, $login, $filter, 'bearer-auth');
         $this->authExcept($token, $login, $filter, 'bearer-auth');
     }
+
+    public function authMethodProvider()
+    {
+        return [
+            ['yii\filters\auth\CompositeAuth'],
+            ['yii\filters\auth\HttpBasicAuth'],
+            ['yii\filters\auth\HttpBearerAuth'],
+            ['yii\filters\auth\QueryParamAuth'],
+        ];
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @dataProvider authMethodProvider
+     */
+    public function testActive($authClass)
+    {
+        /** @var $filter AuthMethod */
+        $filter = new $authClass;
+        $reflection = new \ReflectionClass($filter);
+        $method = $reflection->getMethod('isActive');
+        $method->setAccessible(true);
+
+        $controller = new \yii\web\Controller('test', Yii::$app);
+
+        // active by default
+        $this->assertEquals(true, $method->invokeArgs($filter, [new Action('index', $controller)]));
+        $this->assertEquals(true, $method->invokeArgs($filter, [new Action('view', $controller)]));
+
+        $filter->only = ['index'];
+        $filter->except = [];
+        $filter->optional = [];
+        $this->assertEquals(true, $method->invokeArgs($filter, [new Action('index', $controller)]));
+        $this->assertEquals(false, $method->invokeArgs($filter, [new Action('view', $controller)]));
+
+        $filter->only = ['index'];
+        $filter->except = [];
+        $filter->optional = ['view'];
+        $this->assertEquals(true, $method->invokeArgs($filter, [new Action('index', $controller)]));
+        $this->assertEquals(false, $method->invokeArgs($filter, [new Action('view', $controller)]));
+
+        $filter->only = ['index', 'view'];
+        $filter->except = ['view'];
+        $filter->optional = [];
+        $this->assertEquals(true, $method->invokeArgs($filter, [new Action('index', $controller)]));
+        $this->assertEquals(false, $method->invokeArgs($filter, [new Action('view', $controller)]));
+
+        $filter->only = ['index', 'view'];
+        $filter->except = ['view'];
+        $filter->optional = ['view'];
+        $this->assertEquals(true, $method->invokeArgs($filter, [new Action('index', $controller)]));
+        $this->assertEquals(false, $method->invokeArgs($filter, [new Action('view', $controller)]));
+
+        $filter->only;
+        $filter->except = ['view'];
+        $filter->optional = ['view'];
+        $this->assertEquals(true, $method->invokeArgs($filter, [new Action('index', $controller)]));
+        $this->assertEquals(false, $method->invokeArgs($filter, [new Action('view', $controller)]));
+    }
+
 }
 
 /**