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Beginner method · step 2 of 7

Step 2: Put in the white corners.

Now the white cross becomes a full white face. You will use one short trigger of four moves, R U R' U', and repeat it one, three or five times depending on where the white sticker is.

Goal of this step The whole white face is solved, and the bottom row of each side matches its centre. That is the first layer.

Find a corner and line it up

Look in the top layer for a corner piece with a white sticker. Its other two colours tell you where it belongs: a white, green and orange corner belongs between the green and orange centres. Turn the top layer until the corner is directly above its slot. Then turn the whole cube so that slot is in the front-right (the cube position DFR, bottom front right) and the corner is at the top front right.

The trigger

The four moves R U R' U' are the most useful four moves in cubing. Cubers nicknamed them the sexy move, a joke about how easy they are to remember. Repeat them and the corner drops into the slot. How many times depends on where the white sticker faces:

White sticker facesDo R U R' U'
On the right-hand sideonce
On top3 times
On the front5 times (or the mirror trigger F' U' F U once)

If white faces the front you can also do the mirror trigger F' U' F U just once. Whichever you pick, stop as soon as the corner is in with white facing down. Check that the corner's side colours match the centres.

A corner stuck in the bottom

If a white corner is already in the bottom layer but in the wrong place or twisted, put it in the bottom front-right slot and do R U R' U' once. It pops up into the top layer, and then you can insert it the proper way.

Check the first layer

The white face should be all white. The bottom row of each side face should match its centre colour, as a solid bar across the bottom. If so, the first layer is finished and your white cross is still there.

Watch it, step by step

Press play to watch the moves on a cube, or step through them one at a time. Drag the cube to look from another side.

White on the right: onceThe white sticker faces right, so one trigger drops the corner into its slot.

Turn on JavaScript to watch this on a 3D cube. The moves are: R U R' U'

  1. R
  2. U
  3. R'
  4. U'
White on top: three timesThe white sticker faces up: repeat the trigger three times.

Turn on JavaScript to watch this on a 3D cube. The moves are: R U R' U' R U R' U' R U R' U'

  1. R
  2. U
  3. R'
  4. U'
  5. R
  6. U
  7. R'
  8. U'
  9. R
  10. U
  11. R'
  12. U'
White on the front: five timesThe white sticker faces front: five times, or use the mirror trigger once.

Turn on JavaScript to watch this on a 3D cube. The moves are: R U R' U' R U R' U' R U R' U' R U R' U' R U R' U'

  1. R
  2. U
  3. R'
  4. U'
  5. R
  6. U
  7. R'
  8. U'
  9. R
  10. U
  11. R'
  12. U'
  13. R
  14. U
  15. R'
  16. U'
  17. R
  18. U
  19. R'
  20. U'

Common mistakes

  • Stopping partway through a repeat. The corner is only in place when you finish a whole R U R' U' and the white sticker faces down.
  • Using the trigger on the wrong corner. Check the corner's colours match the centres of the slot you are aiming for.
  • Holding the cube a different way each time. Keep the slot in the same place.
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FAQ

Step 2: questions

Why does R U R' U' work?

Each set of four moves swaps the corner on top with the corner in the slot and twists it a little. Depending on which way the white sticker faces, one, three or five sets leave the corner in the slot the right way up. Six sets in a row bring the whole cube back to where it started.

Does R U R' U' break my white cross?

No. When you finish a whole set of four moves, only the top layer, the bottom front-right corner and the front-right edge are different. The cross on the bottom stays where it is.

I have three white corners in. Where does the fourth go?

In exactly the same way: line it up above its slot and use the trigger. The last corner is often easy because everything else is in place.

Is this the only way to do the first layer?

No. Many solvers learn to see the corner and its slot together and insert them with fewer moves. The trigger method is the easiest to learn and has no rules to remember.

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