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Beginner's Method · Stage 3

How to Solve the Second Layer of a Rubik's Cube: Middle-Layer Edges

Once the first layer is complete, the four centers of the middle equator (red, blue, orange, and green) are already in place. To finish the first two layers (F2L), you only need to insert four middle-layer edge pieces—the four edges that have neither white nor yellow stickers.

Keep the white face on top (U) so your solved first layer stays visible and protected.

Overview

Which Four Edges Belong in the Middle Layer?

With white on top (U) and yellow on the bottom (D), any edge piece that contains a yellow sticker belongs in the bottom layer for Stages 4 and 5. The middle layer holds only the four side-color edges:

  • Red–Blue edge (between the Red and Blue centers).
  • Blue–Orange edge (between the Blue and Orange centers).
  • Orange–Green edge (between the Orange and Green centers).
  • Green–Red edge (between the Green and Red centers).

Look at the four edge positions on the bottom layer (D) and find an edge where neither sticker is yellow (its side sticker is not yellow, and its bottom-facing sticker is not yellow).

Step 1

Line Up the Side Sticker to Make an Upside-Down “T”

The “T” Rule: Once you find a bottom edge with no yellow sticker, look at its side-facing sticker (not the sticker facing the floor). Turn the bottom layer (D, D', or D2) until that side sticker sits directly underneath the center of the same color, then turn the whole cube to face that center (keeping white on top).

When the edge's side sticker matches the front center, the top row of three matching stickers, the front center, and the bottom edge's side sticker form a vertical upside-down “T” of one solid color on the front face (`F`).

Step 2

Choose Right Insertion or Left Insertion

While facing the matching “T” on the front face (F), peek at the bottom-facing sticker of that same edge (the sticker pointing toward the floor). It will match either the right center (R) or the left center (L):

Case 1: Bottom Sticker Matches the Right Center → Insert Right

If the bottom sticker matches the center on your right, the edge belongs in the front-right middle slot (between F and R). Run the 8-move Insert Right formula in two four-move chunks:

D' R' D Rbottom left · right down · bottom right · right up D F D' F'bottom right · front clockwise · bottom left · front counter
  1. Before Insert Right: the red-blue edge at bottom front has red matching the front red center and blue on the bottom matching the right blue center.
    Before Insert Right: red makes a “T” in front, and blue on the bottom matches the right center (R).
  2. After Insert Right: the red-blue edge sits solved in the front-right middle slot.
    After D' R' D R + D F D' F': the edge sits in the front-right middle slot while the white layer stays intact.

Case 2: Bottom Sticker Matches the Left Center → Insert Left

If the bottom sticker matches the center on your left, the edge belongs in the front-left middle slot (between F and L). Run the mirrored 8-move Insert Left formula:

D L D' L'bottom right · left down · bottom left · left up D' F' D Fbottom left · front counter · bottom right · front clockwise
Memory Trick

How to Remember Which Way D Turns First

You never have to guess whether to start with D' or D if you remember one physical principle: the first bottom turn always moves the edge AWAY from the side where it wants to go:

  • When inserting to the Right, the first turn pushes the bottom edge to the left (D'), out of the way, so the right face can come down (R') to pick up its corner partner.
  • When inserting to the Left, the first turn pushes the bottom edge to the right (D), out of the way, so the left face can come down (L) to pick up its corner partner.
  • In the second half of both formulas, you watch the single white corner sticker that got pulled out of the top layer: move it toward the front face, open the front face to meet it, tuck the white corner back onto its stripe, and close the front face.
Troubleshooting

What If All Bottom Edges Have Yellow, But the Second Layer Is Not Done?

Sometimes every edge left in the bottom layer has a yellow sticker, yet one or two middle-layer edges are still unsolved—either sitting in the wrong middle slot or sitting in their right slot backwards (flipped).

How to fix it:

  1. Hold the cube (white on top) so the wrong or flipped middle-layer edge is at the front-right middle slot (between F and R).
  2. Perform Insert Right (D' R' D R + D F D' F') once. This inserts a dummy yellow edge into the front-right slot and kicks the trapped middle-layer edge out into the bottom layer!
  3. Now find that ejected edge on the bottom layer, line up its side sticker to make a “T”, and insert it properly.

Stage 3 Check: The top white face and the top two rows of all four side faces (Red, Blue, Orange, Green) are completely solved.

Result of Stage 3: the first two layers (F2L) are completely solved, leaving only the bottom yellow layer.

Continue to Stages 4–7: Solving the Last Layer