A yellow top face and two solved lower layers.
Keep yellow up. When you find a matching pair, align it with its side centre and hold that side on the left.
1. Look for a matching pair
On each side, compare the two top corner stickers. Ignore the edge sticker between them. Two corner stickers of the same colour on that side form a matching pair, sometimes called “headlights.”
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Matching pairs on all four sides | Turn U until they match their centres. Your corners are finished. |
| One matching pair | Turn U to align that pair with its centre, then rotate the whole cube sideways to put the pair on the left. |
| No matching pair | Perform the T sequence once with any face at the front. Find the matching pair it creates and set it up on the left. |
Do not choose a pair merely because one corner matches a centre. Compare the two corners with each other first.
2. Swap the two right-hand corners
R U R' U' R' F R2 U' R' U' R U R' F'
This is called the T permutation. It exchanges the two top-right corners while keeping yellow upward. It also moves two top edges, which we will solve in the next lesson.
Learn it in three chunks, with no cube rotation between them:
R U R' U'R' F R2 U' R' U'R U R' F'
3. Recheck before repeating
If you started without a matching pair, the first application only creates one. Align that pair with its centre, put it on the left, and perform T again. If you started with a matching pair on the left, one application should put all four corners in place.
Turn U if needed to align all the top corner colours with the centres. Check the side stickers of all four corners, not just the pair you started with.
4. Leave the edges for the next lesson
You may see a top row like blue–red–blue: both corners are correct and the edge is still wrong. That is exactly the state we need for the final edge cycle. Do not twist yellow corners again.
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 direction. A 2 means a 180° turn. Keep the same face toward you throughout the algorithm.
Watch, then try
Work through an example
Start by going through the example one move at a time. It shows a specific action from a prepared position. Use the lesson’s setup instructions to recognize when that action applies to your own scramble.
Watch one worked example
The matching top-corner pair is on the left. T swaps the two top-right corners. On a normal solve, some top edges may still be misplaced after the corners are correct.
Example grip: yellow up · blue front · red right at the start. Follow any written whole-cube rotations.
0 / 14
Loading 3D cube…
Prepared position · 0 / 14 moves
Use Next move to follow the sequence.
Drag to inspect other faces. Use the arrow keys to rotate the view when the cube has focus.
Copy this exact example on your own cube
Start with a solved 3×3 with yellow on top and blue in front. Follow 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.
F R U' R' U R U R2 F' R U R U' R'Then follow the lesson sequence. If your cube’s colour scheme differs, match the piece relationships using your own colours.
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
Compare the two top corner stickers on each side, ignoring the edge between them. Use the matching pair to set up the T permutation, then check all four corners.
Open a 3×3 Digital Cube for practiceOpens in a new tab so you can keep this lesson open while you practise. Check for yourself whether you’ve met the lesson goal. The Digital Cube doesn’t grade your work.
If you get stuck
The top face is all yellow, but the top rows on the sides are mixed.
Check the corners separately. If both corners on every side match their centre, continue to final edges even when the edge between them is wrong.
The T permutation didn’t put all the corners in place.
If you started with no matching pair, use U to align the pair created by your first T with its centre. Put that pair on the left before performing T a second time.
Before moving on
Check your result
Your cube at this stage
Yellow corners in place
Both top corner stickers on each side match its centre. The three remaining top edges still need to cycle.
Confirm these on your cube. Watching the animation alone does not complete the lesson.
Check off each item once you can do it yourself.