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I am trying to learn solving a 2x2 Rubik. I am down to the last two corners. They are positioned like so:

enter image description here

and

enter image description here

Bottom layer is solved. I have tried all the algorithms I could find to swap two corners, applying them multiple times etc. To no avail. I have almost come to believe someone messed the cube up (it's an old cube, kids have been playing with it).

I tried the solutions presented in this post: Last 2 pieces in Rubik

meaning sune U2 bsune U2 -- multiple times

and

R' D' R D (4x)
U
R' D' R D (2x)
U'

Also tried other solutions for swapping corners, but somehow ALL examples I could find online show the last two corners positioned differently, making me believe I am trying to solve an unsolvable cube.

Is this cube solvable? If yes, how?

Thank you!

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    $\begingroup$ Just do a T-permutation with the solved bar on the left? $\endgroup$
    – Stevo
    Jun 25 at 1:57

2 Answers 2

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When I run into this situation, I tend to still solve it the way I did when I got my first cube (in the 80s). I expect this will work for you:

For the notation, yellow should be upper (U) and the side with 3 green squares should be front (F). We are going to swap the location of 2 top pieces (and mess up the bottom, but swapping again will fix that):

R' D' R
L  D  L'
R' D' R

Now, we need to rotate the top of the cube so that the 2 top pieces that are wrong both face us, which is

U

Now, we simply repeat the original set of moves

R' D' R
L  D  L'
R' D' R

At this point, the top and bottom should both look good, but the other 4 faces may need a rotation to fix. That move should be obvious.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you so much! I must have done something wrong following your rotations :( because I wasn't able to solve it with the instructions, and also now I cannot get it in the original position (from the OP) anymore. And it again does not match anything I see in videos :(. Now, bottom layer is again correct, but on the top layer I have one corner correctly placed and correctly rotated, and the other three corners are all incorrectly placed. I have tried the U R U' L' U R' U' L which I've seen advised in many places, but even after multiple sets with these rotations, it still does not get fixed :( $\endgroup$
    – Gec
    Jun 24 at 19:19
  • $\begingroup$ The U R U' L' U R' U' L indeed seems to cycle the other three corners, but never gets them right. What am I doing wrong? :) Thank you again! $\endgroup$
    – Gec
    Jun 24 at 19:23
  • $\begingroup$ I know what the problem is: Y was wrong. It's actually a shift. Let me update. $\endgroup$
    – Joel Rondeau
    Jun 25 at 4:27
  • $\begingroup$ Yes, I got this again, and it works after the update :) $\endgroup$
    – Gec
    Nov 15 at 8:29
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With yellow on top, blue in front:

First, swap two corners:

L U' R' U L' U' R

Then, orient corners:

R' U' R U' R' U2 R

These two sequences should be in most instruction guides (this applies primarily to the 3x3 cube), though the orientation may vary. Together, they will solve the given position or reach the given position from solved state. In this particular case, the last move of the first sequence is immediately undone in the second, so a concise solution is

L U' R' U L' U2 R U' R' U2 R

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you! As mentioned in my comment to Joel, I can no longer get the cube in the original position. However, I tried your two sequence repeatedly, so now I manage to get two adjacent corners correctly positioned and correctly oriented, and the other two corners are correctly positioned but incorrectly oriented. I understand the R' U' R U' R' U2 R sequence can reorient corners. How should I place my cube (now two correctly positioned and oriented, and two correctly positioned but wrongly oriented) before applying this orientation sequence? $\endgroup$
    – Gec
    Jun 24 at 20:37
  • $\begingroup$ For me, it does reorient the corners, but somehow never all of them correct, despite multiple attempts and various positions. Thank you! $\endgroup$
    – Gec
    Jun 24 at 20:39
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    $\begingroup$ @Gec Start with the solved cube, yellow up and blue front, and apply the above sequence exactly as stated. This will give you the position shown in your image. Repeating the sequence will solve the cube. image $\endgroup$
    – Daniel Mathias
    Jun 24 at 22:45

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