CuberoxLearn the Rubik’s Cube
Step 2 of 6
Step 2 of 6 · Intuitive F2L

The 4 basic inserts

Insert an already formed pair, in the 4 simplest starting situations. All the others come back to these.

Keyboard: Enter to continue, ← to go back. Keep your hands on the cube.

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Hold the empty slot front-right. If the pair is already formed on top, there are only two moves: from the right (R U R') or from the front (F' U' F).

When the corner and the edge are split on either side, the last two inserts (U R U' R' and U' F' U F) drop them in together: the U sets up, then the pair goes down.

Read where the corner’s white faces: to the right, it’s a right insert; to the front, a front insert.

Do each case slowly, 5 times, watching where the pieces go rather than your hands.

Remember: The front inserts mirror the right ones: left hand on F instead of right hand on R.

The cases

  • Direct insert on the right: R U R'. Corner top right, white facing right. Edge at the back, green on top.
  • Direct insert at the front: F' U' F. Corner top right, white facing front. Edge on the left, orange on top.
  • Pair to join on the right: U R U' R'. Corner white facing front. Edge top right, green on top.
  • Pair to join at the front: U' F' U F. Corner white facing right. Edge top front, orange on top.

Troubleshooting

The pair splits instead of going in
The starting U went the wrong way, or the pair wasn’t above its slot. Put the empty slot front-right again and retry.
The corner goes down with white on the side
You did the right insert while the white was facing front (or the other way around). Take the pair out with the same insert and choose the other one.