You know the four-move trigger. Nothing needs to be solved yet.
Keep white facing down. Hold the cube so the slot for each new corner is at bottom-front-right.
1. Place your first corner
Choose any white corner and rotate the cube until its white sticker faces down. Treat that piece as solved. The three remaining white corners must fit around it according to their side colours.
Two corners sharing a non-white colour belong next to each other on that coloured side. A corner sharing neither side colour with the reference belongs diagonally across from it.
2. Choose a white corner on top
Find a white corner in the top layer. Use the corners you’ve already placed to work out where it belongs. Keeping white down, rotate the whole cube sideways until the target slot is at bottom-front-right.
Use U to move the target corner to top-front-right, directly above its slot. Its white sticker can face any of the three directions.
3. Insert it with the trigger
R U R' U'
Repeat the full four-move sequence until the selected corner is in the bottom-front-right slot, with white facing down and its side colours matching those of its neighbours. Depending on the corner’s orientation, this takes one, three or five repetitions.
Keep the same front and do not add U turns between repetitions. Check only after finishing U′.
4. Recover a misplaced bottom piece
If the white corner you need is already in the bottom layer but is twisted or in the wrong slot, hold that slot at bottom-front-right and perform the trigger once to eject it. Find the correct slot, move the corner directly above it, and insert it as usual.
Keep your reference corner in place unless you deliberately choose a new one. Fit the other white pieces around the pieces you’ve already solved.
5. Check all four side pairs
Once all four white stickers face down, check the bottom pair on each side. If any pair has two different colours, some white corners are in the wrong slots. Put those corners in the correct slots before moving on. The next lesson assumes the whole first layer is solved.
Watch, then try
Work through an example
Start by stepping through the example one move at a time. This example demonstrates a specific action. Use the lesson’s setup instructions to recognise when that action applies to your own scramble.
Watch one worked example
The target white corner starts directly above its front-right slot. Watch how a single trigger inserts it and leaves the other bottom corners solved.
Example grip: yellow up · blue front · red right at the start. Follow any written whole-cube rotations.
0 / 4
Loading 3D cube…
Prepared starting position · 0 / 4 moves
Use Next move to follow the sequence.
Drag to inspect other faces. When the cube has focus, use the arrow keys to rotate the view.
Copy this exact example on your own cube
Start with a solved 2×2, with yellow facing up and blue facing you. Apply the setup moves below from left to right to create the example’s starting position. Keep this example separate from the scramble you’re solving throughout the course.
U R U' R'Then follow the lesson sequence. If your cube has a different colour scheme, use your own colours to identify the corresponding pieces.
Compare the starting position and the result
Drag each cube to inspect its other faces.
Explain it to yourself
Check your understanding
Now use your own cube
Your turn
Place one reference corner, then insert the other three white corners. After each insertion, check both side colours as well as white.
Open a 2×2 Digital Cube for practiceThe Digital Cube opens in a new tab so you can keep this lesson open while you practise. Check for yourself whether you’ve met the lesson goal, as the Digital Cube doesn’t assess your result.
If you get stuck
The white face is complete, but the bottom pairs on the sides don’t match.
Identify the white corner whose side colours don’t match its neighbours. Eject it, use both side colours to find the correct slot, and reinsert it.
Before moving on
Check your result
Your cube at this stage
A complete white layer
White faces down, and each side has a matching bottom pair. The yellow corners are still unfinished.
Confirm these on your cube. Watching the animation alone does not complete the lesson.
Tick each item when you can do it yourself.