Step 3: How to Solve the Middle Layer

Slot the four middle edges in so the first two layers are done. After this step two thirds of the cube is solved, and only the yellow layer on top is left.

Two algorithms, one for each side

Each middle-layer edge goes either down to the right or down to the left. The two algorithms are mirror images of each other:

• Edge goes to the right: U R U' R' U' F' U F
• Edge goes to the left: U' L' U L U F U' F'

Step by step

1. Find an edge in the top layer with no yellow on it. (Edges with yellow belong in the top layer, so leave them.)
2. Make an upside-down T. Turn the top until the edge’s front colour matches the front centre below it.
3. Look at its top colour. If it matches the centre on the right, do the right-hand algorithm. If it matches the left centre, do the left-hand one.
4. Repeat until all four middle edges are in.

If an edge is in the middle layer but wrong

If a middle edge is in the wrong slot, or in the right slot but flipped, you can’t use it directly. Put any yellow edge at the front of the top, hold the bad slot at the front-right and do the right-hand algorithm once. This swaps the wrong edge out into the top layer. Now put it back in properly.

Tips

• Say it as two halves: “U R U’ R’” then “U’ F’ U F”. The second half fixes the white corner the first half moved.
• If your white layer gets broken, you made a slip in the algorithm. Undo and try again slowly.

Practise step 3 in the trainer

Questions people ask

What if every top edge has yellow on it?

Then a middle edge is in the wrong place or flipped. Use either algorithm once on that slot to push it out to the top.

Why does my white layer break?

Usually a small slip in the algorithm, often the U’ near the middle. Undo and try slowly.