You know the four-move trigger. Nothing needs to be solved yet.
Keep white facing down. Hold the cube so that 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 that share a colour other than white belong next to each other on the side of that colour. A corner that shares neither side colour with the reference corner belongs diagonally opposite it.
2. Choose a white corner on top
Find a white corner in the top layer. Work out where it belongs using the already placed pieces. Rotate the whole cube sideways to put its destination at bottom-front-right, keeping white down.
Use U to bring the target corner to the top-front-right position, directly above its slot. The white sticker can face in any of the three directions.
3. Insert it with the trigger
R U R' U'
Repeat the full four-move block until the selected corner is in the bottom-front-right slot, with white facing down and its side colours matching 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 a white corner you need is already in the bottom layer but is twisted or in the wrong slot, hold the cube with that slot at bottom-front-right and perform the trigger once to eject the corner. Find the correct slot, position the corner above it and insert it as usual.
Only eject your reference corner if 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 corners on the white face are in the wrong slots. Put those pieces in the correct slots before moving on. The next lesson assumes the whole first layer is correct.
Watch, then try
Work through an example
Start by stepping through one move at a time. This prepared example shows a specific action. Use the lesson’s setup instructions to recognise when to use it on 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 solved bottom corners in place.
Example grip: Start with yellow on top, blue at the front and red on the right. Follow any written instructions for rotating the whole cube.
0 / 4
Loading 3D cube…
Prepared starting position · 0 / 4 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 keyboard focus.
Copy this exact example on your own cube
Start with a solved 2×2, with yellow on top 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 the relationships between your own colours to identify the equivalent 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 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 assess your result.
If you get stuck
All four white stickers face down, but the bottom pairs on the sides don’t match.
Find the white corner whose side colours don’t match those of its neighbours. Eject it, use both side colours to find its 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 once you can do it yourself.