How to Solve a 4x4 Rubik's Cube (Beginner Method)

To solve a 4x4 Rubik's Cube, turn it into a big 3x3 in three stages: (1) build the six centers, (2) pair up the edge pieces, and (3) solve it like a 3x3. This is called the reduction method. You need five short sequences for the first two stages, plus one fix for each of the two "parity" cases that only happen on a 4x4.

You should already be able to solve a 3x3, because stage 3 is exactly that. If you can't yet, start with our beginner 3x3 guide.

• Notation
• 1 Centers
• 2 Edges
• 3 Like a 3x3
• OLL parity
• PLL parity
• Troubleshooting
• Cheat sheet

Before You Start: Pieces and Notation

A 4x4 has no fixed centers. Each face has a block of 4 center pieces in the middle. Each edge is made of 2 edge pieces (24 in all), and there are 8 corners, just like on a 3x3. Once every face's four center pieces match and every edge piece sits next to its partner, the cube behaves like a 3x3 with big pieces.

Because the centers move, nothing on the cube tells you which color goes where. You decide that while building the centers, so you need the color scheme: white is opposite yellow, green is opposite blue, and red is opposite orange. With yellow on top and green in front, orange is on the right. If your cube uses other colors, swap the color names.

4x4 notation: wide moves

The face turns (R, U, F, L, D, B) work as on a 3x3 and turn only the outer layer. An apostrophe means counterclockwise, and a 2 means a half turn. The notation guide has the details. A 4x4 adds a few more:

• Rw turns the right two layers together. Some sites write it r. Uw (top two layers) and Lw (left two layers) work the same way.
• 2R turns only the second layer from the right.
• x, y and z turn the whole cube in your hands: x like R, y like U, z like F.

Step 1: Build the Centers

Goal: a solid block of one color in the middle of every face, in the right color scheme. You build them one at a time on the top face, with two sequences that each move one center piece up into the top center:

• From the front: turn F until the piece is in the front center's bottom-right spot. Turn U until the top center's back-left spot is a different color. Then do Rw U Rw'.
• From the bottom: turn D until the piece is in the bottom center's back-right spot. Turn U the same way, then do Rw2 U Rw2.

The new piece lands in the top center's front-left spot. The piece that was there moves to the back-left spot, and the right half of the top center stays put. So the top center gains exactly one piece and loses none. Rw U Rw' changes only the top and front centers, and Rw2 U Rw2 only the top and bottom centers. Every other center stays exactly as it was, which is how you keep the centers you've already built.

1a. White center

Build white on top, holding the cube any way you like. If a white center piece is on the left, right or back, turn the whole cube (y', y or y2) to bring that side to the front. Only when white pieces are left just on the bottom do you need the bottom sequence.

1b. Yellow center, opposite white

Turn the cube over (x2) so white is on the bottom, and build yellow on top the same way. No yellow piece can be on the bottom now, so you only need the front sequence, and it never touches the white center.

1c. Green center

Turn the cube (z) so white and yellow are on the left and right. Build green on top. Pieces can come from the front, the back (turn the cube with y2, which keeps white and yellow on the sides) or the bottom (the bottom sequence).

1d. Blue center, opposite green

Turn the cube over (x2) so green is on the bottom. Build blue on top, with pieces from the front, or from the back after y2.

1e. The last two centers: check the color scheme

Turn the cube (x) so green is in front and blue is at the back. Only the top and bottom are left, for red and orange. Which one goes on top depends on where yellow is:

• Yellow on the right: build red on top.
• Yellow on the left: build orange on top.

Every piece you need is on the top or the bottom, so use the bottom sequence. When the top is done, the bottom is done too.

Don't skip the color check. With red and orange swapped, the centers are a mirror image of a real cube. You'd only notice in stage 3, when no corner fits anywhere.

Step 2: Pair the Edges

Goal: the two pieces of every edge side by side, so each edge looks like one 3x3 edge. Two pieces are partners when they have the same two colors. Partners always fit the right way round: whenever both are in the same edge, that edge is paired. Every sequence in this step brings the centers back to where they were.

1. Pick an edge. Find an edge whose two pieces don't match, and turn the whole cube so it's at the front-left (between the front and left centers). Its piece in the top half is the left piece.
2. Bring the left piece's partner into the front-right edge. These moves never touch the front-left edge:
   • In the top layer: turn U until it's in the top-right edge, then R'.
   • In the bottom layer: turn D until it's in the bottom-right edge, then R.
   • In the back-right edge: R2. In the back-left edge: B2, then R2.
3. Check which half it's in. If the partner is in the top half of the front-right edge, do R U R' F R' F' R. That moves it to the bottom half.
4. Put an unpaired edge in the top-right spot. Turn U until the top-right edge is one that isn't paired yet. If every top edge is paired, bring one up first: from the back-right edge with B, from the back-left edge with B', or from the bottom layer by turning D until it's in the bottom-back edge and doing B2.
5. Pair them: Uw' R U R' Uw. The left piece and its partner are now a pair in the top-left edge.

The two pieces from the top-right edge drop into the front-left and front-right edges, so the front-left edge may still need pairing. If it does, skip the cube turn in 1 and carry on with its new top piece. Repeat until only two edges are unpaired.

The last two edges

With only two edges left, there's no unpaired edge to put in the top-right spot. Hold one at the front-left and bring the other to the front-right with the moves from 2. The left piece's partner is now somewhere in the front-right edge. This time it has to be in the top half, so if it's in the bottom half, do R U R' F R' F' R. Then:

Uw' R U R' F R' F' R Uw

That pairs both edges at once. Sometimes the last normal pairing finishes two edges together, and you won't need this.

Step 3: Solve It Like a 3x3

Now treat each center block as one center and each edge pair as one edge. Hold the cube with yellow on top and follow our beginner 3x3 guide from the daisy onward: white cross, white corners, middle layer, yellow cross, yellow edges and yellow corners. In short, you solve the white layer, then the middle layer, then the yellow layer. Use only outer-layer turns (R, U, F and so on, never Rw or Uw), and the pairs and centers stay together.

The only difference comes in the last layer. A 4x4 can reach two positions that a 3x3 can't, called parity. They aren't mistakes, and each one has a fix.

OLL Parity: One or Three Yellow Edges

In step 5 of the 3x3 guide (the yellow cross), count the edge pairs on top that show yellow. On a 3x3 that's always 0, 2 or 4. If it's 1 or 3, you have OLL parity. Turn the top until a pair that doesn't show yellow is at the front, and do:

Rw U2 x Rw U2 Rw U2 Rw' U2 Lw U2 Rw' U2 Rw U2 Rw' U2 Rw'

The x in the middle turns the whole cube, and by the end it's back the way you held it, yellow on top. The first three layers stay solved, and now an even number of edge pairs show yellow. The algorithm also moves other top pieces around, which doesn't matter yet. Carry on with step 5.

PLL Parity: Two Corners in Place

In step 7a you look for corners that are in their right spots. On a 3x3 you end up with exactly one, or all four. With PLL parity you find exactly two, or none, and doing U R U' L' U R' U' L once still leaves none or two. Then do:

2R2 U2 2R2 Uw2 2R2 Uw2

It keeps the first three layers and the yellow cross, and the cube is a normal 3x3 position again. Go back to step 6 (match the yellow edges), then do step 7.

Both parities can happen in the same solve, or neither. If every last-layer position were equally likely, half of them would have OLL parity, half would have PLL parity, and a quarter would have both. The adjacent-swap PLL parity case and a "pure" OLL parity algorithm that changes nothing else are on the 4x4 parity algorithms page.

Troubleshooting

A center I had finished got mixed up

Rw U Rw' takes a piece out of the front center, and Rw2 U Rw2 takes one out of the bottom center. So never have a finished center in front when you use the first, or on the bottom when you use the second. Keep finished centers where each step puts them: on the bottom in 1b and 1d, and on the left and right from 1c on. While you build in 1c to 1e, turn the cube only with y2. A y or y' would move white or yellow to the front.

Pairing an edge broke a pair I'd already made

Uw' R U R' Uw moves the two pieces of the top-right edge down into the front edges. If that edge was already paired, it comes apart. Always check the top-right edge first (step 4 of the pairing).

No corner fits in stage 3

The centers are in a mirror-image color scheme, with red and orange swapped. Hold the cube with green in front and blue at the back, and do 2R2 U2 D2 2R2. That swaps the top and bottom centers, leaves the other four alone and keeps every edge pair together. Then start stage 3 again.

One or three yellow edges, or two corners that won't place

That's parity, not a mistake. Use the OLL parity or PLL parity fix above.

All the Sequences on One Page

Want to see how fast you're getting? Time your solves with the cube timer. If you get lost in the middle of a solve, enter your cube's colors into the 4x4 solver: it works out the moves from wherever you are and plays them back step by step.

FAQ