5 of 7 in Phase 1 — Beginner
Step 7 of 25

Step 5: Align the Yellow Edges

Turn U until two edges match their centers, then Sune + U swaps the other two into place.

≈ 10 minAfter: Step 4: The Yellow Cross

What you'll learn

Goal state: yellow cross with every edge's side sticker matching the center below it
The goal: every side sticker over its own centre.

The yellow cross is up, but from the side the cube still looks chaotic. Each cross edge has a second sticker facing outwards, and it belongs above the center of the same color. This step puts all four home — white stays on the bottom, yellow on top, as always.

Find the matching pair

Turn U one click at a time, a full circle, and at each stop count how many edge side stickers match the center directly below them. One angle gives you either:

Leave U at the two-match angle and check whether the matching pair sits adjacent (side by side) or opposite (facing across the cube).

The tool: Sune + U

R U R' U R U2 R' followed by a single U.

Held normally, this swaps the front and left edges while leaving the back and right edges — and the entire yellow cross — untouched. It scrambles the corners; ignore them completely, they are Steps 6 and 7.

Sune + U — watch the front and left edges trade places.

Adjacent pair

Two matching edges side by side — hold them at the back and right
Adjacent: hold the pair back-and-right.

Hold the cube so the two matching edges sit at the back and right. Run Sune, then U. The front and left edges trade places, and all four edges are home.

Opposite pair

Two matching edges facing each other across the cube
Opposite: no grip helps — convert it first.

No grip puts an opposite pair at back-and-right, so run Sune + U from any angle. It won’t solve the edges — it converts the case: turn U again to find the new matching pair, which is now adjacent, hold it back-and-right, and apply once more.

Repeat the loop — turn U to count matches, hold the matching pair back-and-right, Sune + U — until all four side stickers match their centers. Adjacent takes one round, opposite takes two. Step 6 then positions the corners.

Cases in this lesson

Practice

Full solve in the trainer, stopping once all four side stickers match — adjacent should take one pass and opposite exactly two, every time.