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I used to solve the Rubik's cube using the standard algorithm. Recently, after a long time I tried doing it again. I did revisit the algorithm to solve the Rubik's cube, but I'm stuck in the top yellow layer. There is one mis-positioned yellow piece in the corner. How do I arrive at a top yellow state? Is this a possible configuration or my cube is malformatted ? I'm clueless. I have followed all possible steps that I know.

My cube's current state

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    $\begingroup$ I assume the unpictured parts of the cube are solved. $\endgroup$
    – Ian MacDonald
    Commented Jul 8, 2018 at 13:32
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    $\begingroup$ It's such a relief to finally see a post that is not a riddle and is actually about puzzles! $\endgroup$
    – cst1992
    Commented Jul 8, 2018 at 13:36
  • $\begingroup$ It is not hard to prove (mathematically) that the corner twists always sum to zero modulo 3, where the corner twist of a corner is the number of clockwise 120 degree rotations needed to get that corner orientation from the base orientation, where the base state of a corner is the one where the yellow or white face is either facing up or facing down. Your cube has corner twist 2, so it is unsolvable. $\endgroup$
    – user21820
    Commented Jul 8, 2018 at 14:21
  • $\begingroup$ Yellow side or yellow layer? $\endgroup$
    – mcalex
    Commented Jul 8, 2018 at 17:37

4 Answers 4

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I'm afraid this is not possible to solve using normal moves.

Two things could have happened:
1. The cube was taken apart or some pieces popped out, and then it was reassembled incorrectly.
2. The cube is loose enough that during scrambling or solving a corner got caught on another piece and twisted in the middle of a move.

In the latter case you can probably just twist the corner back without taking the cube apart. Otherwise you will have to pop out an edge piece next to the corner (turn the U face by 45 degrees first), twist the corner, and reinsert the edge piece. This method of disassembly does not work on modern speed cubes, only on older cubes. To disassemble modern speed cubes you usually need to pop off the cap of a face centre and unscrew the screw on the axle.

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If a corner piece is misaligned and you are confused as to how to fix it, just take the cube apart and assemble it back in the solved state. It hardly takes 5 minutes and you can then scramble the cube and practice your solves.

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That state is not possible/solvable.

The 2 most likely explanations are:

  • You took apart the puzzle and assembled it incorrectly.

  • You twisted a corner. Many speedcubes (Including mine) have a problem in that you can twist corners into a new position, putting it into an unsolvable state. This probably happened while you were scrambling the cube. If you think this is the reason this has happened a to fix it, simply twist the piece into place with your hand.

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Clearly , this is an unsolvable state. Refer to the page , Laws of the cube , to get the idea of what I mean.

The edges and the corners are somewhat entangled with each other, if one corner is twisted clockwise, the other has to be in counter-clockwise , and so on.

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