Step 7: How to Twist the Last Corners and Finish
Twist the last corners so yellow faces up. The cube is solved! This is the step where most people think they have broken the cube. You haven’t: keep going and it all comes back.
The algorithm
R' D' R D, repeated: right anticlockwise, bottom anticlockwise, right clockwise, bottom clockwise. Two goes twist the front-right top corner one way; four goes twist it the other way.
Step by step
- Hold the cube with yellow on top and a twisted corner (yellow not on top) at the front-right of the top layer.
- Repeat R' D' R D until yellow faces up on that corner. That is 2 or 4 goes. The bottom layers will look scrambled. That is normal!
- Turn only the top (U) to bring the next twisted corner to the front-right. Do not turn the whole cube and do not move the bottom.
- Repeat until every top corner shows yellow on top. The rest of the cube puts itself back together.
- Give the top a final turn to line the colours up. Solved!
Two twisted corners: two goes on the first, a U turn, four goes on the second, then line up the top.
Why does the bottom come back?
R' D' R D done six times returns the cube to how it started. Each corner you fix uses 2 or 4 goes, and when every top corner is right, the total always adds up to a multiple of six. So as long as you only turn the top in between, the bottom ends up exactly where it began.
What next?
Well done, you can solve a cube! Time yourself with the cube timer, then learn some faster methods on our speedcubing page and the algorithms pages.
Practise step 7 in the trainer
Tip: Never turn the whole cube in this step. Only R, D and U turns, or the bottom won't come back.
Questions people ask
Why does the cube look broken halfway through?
R’ D’ R D moves bottom pieces while it twists the top corner. Once all the top corners are done, they all go back.
What if I turned the whole cube by mistake?
The bottom won’t come back by itself then. Use the solver or start this step again from your last good position.