You have studied all 4×4 stages and can solve a 3×3.
Restore your chosen orientation after reduction. For the shared solving steps, hold the cube with white down and yellow up.
1. Start with a new scramble
Scramble your cube with outer and wide turns so that both the centres and the edges need work. Use your own cube for this lesson. The player below reviews the final edge cycle. You’ll work through the full solve on your own scramble.
2. Check each stage before moving on
| Stage | Checkpoint | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Centres | Six solid blocks in the order indicated by the corners | Build centres |
| Pairing | Twelve groups of two matching wings | Pair edges |
| Reduced solve | First layers, then last-layer orientation and positions | Use the 3×3 method |
| Orientation exception | One or three edge groups with yellow facing up → repair, then return to the yellow cross | OLL parity |
| Position exception | Two swapped groups → repair, then finish the edge cycle | PLL parity |
Apply a repair only if its case occurs. Leave your cube in its current state while you review a lesson.
3. Identify the first unfinished stage
If the centres are solid but the wings are still mixed, carry on pairing. Once the edge groups are complete, you can start the ordinary 3×3 solve even if the groups are in the wrong positions. A group is only a complete virtual edge when every piece matches, even if most of the cube already looks solved.
If centres are solid but colour order is wrong, fix that before pairing again. Corners provide the reference a 4×4 lacks in its centres.
4. Work more independently on a second solve
Finish all six faces, then choose one skill to practise again. You could build centre bars, set up edges for pairing or read the repair notation to work out how many layers to turn. On your next scramble, try that stage without replaying the worked example.
Completion means that you can identify what to do and check whether it worked. Looking up a long parity sequence is still fine.
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.
Rw turns the rightmost two layers together. 2R turns only the second layer from the right. 3Rw turns three layers. x rotates the whole cube like R, so the old front becomes the new top.
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
Review the final edge cycle on a prepared 4×4 using outer turns. For the full exercise, start from a fresh scramble and follow the checkpoints above.
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 / 11
Loading 3D cube…
Prepared position · 0 / 11 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 4×4, with yellow up and blue at the front. Apply the setup 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.
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
Drag each cube to inspect its other faces.
Explain it to yourself
Check your understanding
Now use your own cube
Your turn
Scramble your cube with outer and wide turns. Build the centres, pair the edges and solve the reduced cube. If you get stuck, use the checkpoint table to work out which stage needs more work.
Open a 4×4 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
I’m unsure whether to keep pairing edges or start the 3×3 solve.
Inspect all twelve edge groups on both faces. The pieces in each group must match on both faces before you begin the reduced solve.
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.
Tick each item once you can do it yourself.