Rubik's Cube First Layer: 4 White Corners, With Pictures

Before you start layer 1

A quick reminder of the names the guide uses: layer 1 is the layer with the white centre, and layer 3 is the layer with the yellow centre. A corner has three stickers: one white and two other colours. A sticker is one coloured square on a piece.

Check three things:

• The white cross is done, and each white edge has its side sticker matching the centre next to it. If not, go back to the White cross step.
• Flip the cube so the yellow centre is on top, with the white cross underneath. From now until the end, the white face always stays on the bottom. That way you can see the corners in the top layer and know exactly where each one needs to go down to.
• You can read the notation R, U, F and the apostrophe (R' means turning the right face anticlockwise as you look straight at it). If that is new to you, read Rubik's Cube notation for beginners first.

In the EasyRubic guide, layer 1 is finished in **step 2**, called "First layer corners". The picture below shows where you are now and where you need to get to:

The goal: the whole bottom face is white, and the bottom row of each side matches the colour of that side's centre, making an upside-down T shape.

Find a corner and its spot

1. Find a corner with a white sticker in the top layer. For example, the white, green and orange corner.
2. Its spot is in layer 1, between the two centres that match its other two stickers. The white, green and orange corner belongs in the corner between the green centre and the orange centre.
3. Turn the whole cube (yellow still on top) so those two centres are on the front and right. The spot to fill is now the bottom front right corner. The guide marks this spot with an X.
4. Turn U until the corner sits right above the X: in the top layer, front right.

Keep holding the cube this way for the whole algorithm. Ruwix uses the same idea: put the corner right next to its spot, then pick the algorithm by which way the white sticker faces (Ruwix). Ruwix holds the white face on top, while this post keeps the white face on the bottom like the guide, so the algorithms look different but the thinking is the same.

Which case do you have?

Once the corner is right above the X, look at its white sticker:

• White sticker on the right: the easiest, three moves.
• White sticker on the front: the mirror image of the case above, also three moves.
• White sticker on top: seven moves, split into two parts.

If the corner is not above the X yet, or it is stuck in layer 1, see the sections further down.

White sticker on the right

R U R'

Before: the white, green and orange corner is in the top layer, front right. The white sticker faces right, the orange sticker is on top and the green sticker is on the front. After: the corner is in layer 1, with white on the bottom, green on the front and orange on the right, matching the two centres.

How to remember it: R lifts the empty spot up, U puts the corner in position above it, and R' brings both of them down. Your right hand does all three moves.

White sticker on the front

F' U' F

Before: the same corner in the same place, but the white sticker faces the front. After: the corner is in its spot. This is the mirror image of R U R': swap the right face for the front face and turn every move the other way.

White sticker on top

R U2 R' U', then R U R'

Before: the white sticker is on the very top, so the corner cannot go straight down. The first part, R U2 R' U', twists the corner so the white sticker faces right, and the corner is still right above the X. Now you have the white sticker on the right case, so the second part is just R U R'. After: the corner is in its spot with white on the bottom.

If you forget the first part, you can use the repeat method further down. Nothing extra to memorise.

The corner is in the top layer but not above the X

Just turn U first. In the picture, for example, the white, green and orange corner is at front left, with the white sticker facing the front. Turning U' moves it to front right, and now the white sticker faces right. Then do R U R'.

U' R U R'

Notice that when you turn U, the white sticker moves to a different face too. So always move the corner above the X first, and only then look at the white sticker to pick the case.

When a corner is stuck in layer 1

Sometimes there are no corners with a white sticker left in the top layer, but layer 1 still is not finished. That means a white corner is stuck in layer 1, in one of two ways:

• In place but twisted: the corner is between the two centres that match it, but its white sticker faces a side instead of the bottom.
• In the wrong spot: the corner is in a different corner of layer 1, between two centres that do not match it.

The fix is the same for both: push the corner up into the top layer, then place it as usual. J Perm shows exactly this: hold the stuck corner at front right and do a four-move sequence to bring it up to the top layer (J Perm). Ruwix also suggests pushing a twisted corner out and putting it back in (Ruwix).

The corner is in place but twisted

The stuck corner is already at front right, so you do not need to turn the whole cube. Do R U R' U': the corner goes up to the top layer and ends up right above the X again. Then look at the white sticker and pick the case as above.

White sticker facing right (as in the picture): after R U R' U', the white sticker is still on the right, so carry on with R U R'.

1. You start with (input)
3. After the formula

White sticker facing the front: after R U R' U', the white sticker is on top, so carry on with the seven moves from the white sticker on top case.

1. You start with (input)
3. After the formula

After, for both: the corner is in place, white is on the bottom, and the white cross has not been touched.

The corner is in the wrong spot

The general way: turn the whole cube (yellow still on top) so the wrong corner is at front right, do R U R' to push it up to the top layer, then turn the cube back to how it was. Now the corner is in the top layer: find its spot and place it as usual.

In the picture, for example, the white, green and orange corner is in the bottom front left corner. Its white sticker is on the bottom, but it is not between the green centre and the orange centre, so it is still in the wrong spot.

• Turn the whole cube a quarter turn so that corner is at front right, do R U R', then turn the cube back. Those three things give the same result as F U F', so if you like, you can just do F U F' without turning the cube. The corner is now in the top layer, at back left.
• Turn U2 to bring it to front right, right above the X. The white sticker now faces the front.
• Do F' U' F.

F U F' U2 F' U' F

1. You start with (input)
3. After the formula

On a real cube, the corner you push up may end up somewhere else, so you might need a different number of U turns than U2. Just keep turning until it is above the X, then look at the white sticker as always.

Another way: repeat R U R' U'

J Perm does layer 1 with just one sequence: hold the corner right above its spot, at front right, then do the four-move sequence R U R' U' again and again until the corner drops into place (J Perm). This sequence never breaks the white cross, so you can keep repeating it without worrying.

Testing it on the simulator, the number of repeats you need depends only on where the white sticker of the corner above the X is:

• White sticker on the right: 1 time.
• White sticker on top: 3 times.
• White sticker on the front: 5 times.

The picture below is the white sticker on top case, doing the four-move sequence three times:

This way is slower because it takes more moves, and the pieces in the top layer get mixed up (that is fine, the top layer gets solved later). In return, you only need to remember one sequence. R U R' U' also comes up a lot in the later steps, so practising it now pays off.

Common first layer mistakes

• Picking the case before moving the corner above the X. Turning U moves the white sticker to another face, so put the corner in place first and look at the white sticker after.
• Putting the corner above the X but between the wrong two centres. The algorithm still brings the corner down, but into the wrong spot. Check again: the two stickers that are not white must match the front and right centres.
• Changing your grip halfway through. If you turn the whole cube during an algorithm, the corner will go to the wrong place. Keep the front facing you from the first move to the last.
• Mixing up U and U'. In the white sticker on top case, the U2 and the U' at the end of the first part are easy to get wrong. Go slowly and count in your head.
• Forgetting to check the bottom row of the sides. A white face with all nine stickers does not mean layer 1 is finished. The bottom row of each side must match that side's centre.

First layer algorithms to remember

White sticker on the right: R U R'

White sticker on the front: F' U' F

White sticker on top: R U2 R' U' R U R'

Corner in place but twisted: R U R' U' to push it up, then place it again by its white sticker.

1. You start with (input)
3. After the formula

The last corner works exactly the same way. The three corners you have already placed are not touched, because the algorithm only turns the front right corner of layer 1:

J Perm says that with the beginner method and regular practice, you can solve the whole cube in about 2 to 4 minutes (J Perm). Layer 1 is the step you will do the most, so get it smooth first.

Video

This video from J Perm (in English) walks through the whole cube for beginners, and it does layer 1 by repeating the four-move sequence, just like the section above.

Next step

Once layer 1 is done, you move on to the middle layer: placing the 4 edges that have no yellow sticker. That is step 3 "Middle layer edges" of the guide, and it also needs just two algorithms.

Stuck halfway? With the EasyRubic app, you can scan your real cube with the camera and see the solution step by step on a 3D cube.

Get EasyRubic and finish your first layer for the first time.

Sources

• How To Solve The Rubik's Cube – Beginners Method (Ruwix)
• How To Solve The 3x3 Rubik's Cube – J Perm