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.

Rotate the whole cube sideways to put this side at the back, keeping yellow on top. Turning U to move a solved side 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 keeping all the corners and the back edge in place. Complete all eleven moves before checking the result.

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. A three-edge cycle can take one or two applications, depending on the direction.

3. If no side is solved

With yellow on top, perform the sequence once with any side facing you. One side will become solved. Rotate the whole cube to put that side at the back, then cycle the edges once or twice as in step 2.

This handles both opposite and adjacent double swaps. Do not use a different sequence merely because the first application did not finish the cube.

4. Check every face

Check the bottom, back and left as well as the visible top, front and right. Every sticker on each face must match its centre. If any corners are out of place, revisit the previous lesson. If only the edges are out of place, 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 entire method with fewer prompts.

Need a reminder of the move notation?

R right · L left · U top · D bottom · F front · B back. A letter on its own 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 at the front throughout the algorithm.

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 back face is solved. Watch the other three top edges cycle while every corner stays in place. This example needs one application of the sequence.

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.

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Loading 3D cube…

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 3×3, with yellow on top and blue at the front. Apply the setup moves below from left to right to create the example’s starting position. Keep this example separate from the scramble you are 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 the relationships between your own colours to identify the equivalent 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 move it to the back.

Open a 3×3 Digital Cube for practice

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. 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 apply the full sequence once more. Cycling the edges in the reverse direction takes two applications of the sequence.

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.

Every face is a single colour matching its centre.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 once you can do it yourself.