Solve the final yellow edges — 3×3 Beginner

Before you start

A yellow face, two solved lower layers, and all four top corners aligned with their side centres.

How to hold your cube

Yellow up. Put a completely solved side at the back by rotating the whole cube sideways.

1. Find a fully solved side

The corners are already in the right places. Inspect all four side faces for one whose top edge also matches its centre. That entire side will be a single colour.

Keep yellow on top and rotate the whole cube sideways to put the solved side at the back. Don’t turn U to move the solved side, as that would move the aligned corners out of place.

2. Cycle three edges

R U' R U R U R U' R' U' R2

This cycles the other three top edges while leaving every corner and the back edge in place. Complete all eleven moves, then check the cube.

If each face is a single colour, your cube is solved.
If the same three edges are still out of place, keep the same face at the back and repeat the sequence once. Depending on the direction, you may need to perform the three-edge cycle once or twice.

3. If no side is solved

With yellow on top, choose any side to face you and perform the sequence once. A solved side will appear. Rotate the whole cube to put that side at the back, then cycle once or twice as in step 2.

This works for both opposite and adjacent double swaps. Keep using the same sequence even if the first cycle doesn’t solve the cube.

4. Check every face

Inspect the bottom, back, and left as well as the visible top, front, and right. Every sticker on every face must match its centre. If corners are wrong, revisit the previous lesson; if only edges are wrong, stay with this stage.

Your first solve is complete when each of the six faces is a single colour. The next lesson helps you repeat the whole method with fewer prompts.

Need a reminder of the move notation?

R right · L left · U top · D bottom · F front · B back. A plain letter means a 90° clockwise turn as you look directly at that face. An apostrophe (′) reverses the turn. A 2 means a 180° turn. Keep the same face towards you throughout the algorithm.

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 back face is solved. Watch the other three top edges cycle while every corner stays in place. You only need to run the sequence once in this example.

Example grip: yellow up · blue front · red right at the start. Follow any written whole-cube rotations.

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Loading 3D cube…

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 3×3, with yellow on top and blue facing you. Follow the setup moves below from left to right to recreate the example’s starting position. Keep this example separate from the scramble you’re solving throughout the course.

R2 U R U R' U' R' 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

Before the example

After the full sequence

Drag each cube to inspect its other faces.

Explain it to yourself

Check your understanding

Now use your own cube

Your turn

Find a solved side, hold it at the back and cycle the remaining edges. If no side is solved, perform one cycle, then find the side it solves and put it at the back.

Open a 3×3 Digital Cube for practice

The 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 corners moved out of alignment before I began.

You probably used U to position the solved side. Undo that setup turn and rotate the whole cube sideways instead.

The cycle did not solve the three edges.

Keep the solved side at the back and perform the same full cycle once more. To cycle the edges in the opposite direction, you need to perform the sequence twice in total.

Before moving on

Check your result

Your cube at this stage

All six faces solved

Every face is one colour. Check the back and bottom as well as the faces you can see here.

Confirm these on your cube. Watching the animation alone does not complete the lesson.

On each of the six faces, every sticker matches the centre colour.I kept the aligned corners in place while setting up the edge cycle.I know how to handle a case with no solved side.

Tick each item when you can do it yourself.