Six solved centres and eleven fully matched three-piece edges.
Put the mismatched three-piece group at the top-front edge (UF). Use its midge as the reference.
1. Recognise the final wing mismatch
Eleven edges must already be complete. In the last group, both wings may be reversed relative to the midge. The two outer stickers match each other, but the middle sticker is the edge’s other colour. The other face shows the same checkerboard pattern with the colours reversed.
This is a swap of the two wings, not a single sticker flipping in place. If several groups are still unpaired, return to ordinary pairing first.
2. Put the group at the top-front edge
Rotate the whole cube to put the affected group at UF. Keep its midge as the orientation reference. Compare all three stickers on each of the two sides with the prepared starting net before beginning.
3. Use the 5×5 version exactly
Rw U2 x Rw U2 Rw U2 Rw' U2 Lw U2 3Rw' U2 Rw U2 Rw' U2 Rw'
Work through the sequence in these groups.
Rw U2 xRw U2 Rw U2 Rw' U2Lw U2 3Rw' U2Rw U2 Rw' U2 Rw'
Rw and Lw turn two layers. The single 3Rw′ turns the rightmost three layers and comes after Lw U2. The move x rotates the whole cube in the direction of R. Use the new face directions after the rotation. Complete the final Rw′ before checking the result.
4. Return to reduction checks
Every edge should now form two matching three-sticker bars, and all centre blocks should be solid. Reorient for the ordinary solve and proceed to the next lesson, which uses outer 3×3 moves.
A correctly reduced 5×5 has no additional 4×4-style last-layer OLL or PLL parity. If an apparent exception appears later, inspect your grouped edges rather than applying the 4×4 algorithms.
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
The wings at UF don’t match the midge. Watch for the single three-layer 3Rw′ after Lw U2. All other Rw moves use two layers.
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 / 18
Loading 3D cube…
Prepared position · 0 / 18 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 5×5, 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 separate from the scramble you’re solving throughout the course.
Rw U2 Rw U2 Rw' U2 3Rw U2 Lw' U2 Rw U2 Rw' U2 Rw' x' U2 Rw'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
Compare the final group’s two wings with its midge on both faces. If the group matches the parity case, perform the full 5×5 repair and check every edge group again.
Open a 5×5 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 used the 4×4 version and the final edge is still wrong.
The 5×5 sequence uses 3Rw′ at one point where the 4×4 version uses Rw′. Check the notation at that point and count three layers before turning.
More than one edge is still incomplete.
Return to ordinary pairing. This case assumes eleven complete groups and only one reversed-wing group.
Before moving on
Check your result
Your cube at this stage
All twelve edges complete
All three pieces of every edge match and the centres are intact. The groups can now be solved with outer 3×3 moves.
Confirm these on your cube. Watching the animation alone does not complete the lesson.
Tick each item once you can do it yourself.