"The scanner says my cube can't be solved"
ScanMyCube checks your cube before solving it. Only 1 in 12 ways of putting a cube's pieces together can be solved by turning. So when something doesn't add up, it tells you, rather than making up a solution.
Almost always the cause is a sticker that was read wrong. On the Check step:
- Pick the right colour.
- Click the wrong sticker.
- Or click a face letter to rescan just that face.
If every sticker is right, the cube itself was put back together wrong. That happens after it pops apart or someone "fixes" it.
Each message, and what to do
| Message | Usually means | Lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Some stickers are still unset. Paint every sticker to continue. | A face hasn't been scanned or painted yet | Scan the missing face |
| There are 10 red stickers; a cube has exactly 9 of each. | One sticker was read as the wrong colour. Red and orange are the most common mix-up. | Wrong sticker count |
| Two faces have the same centre colour. | A centre was misread, or one face was scanned twice | Rescan one of the two faces |
| A corner piece has an impossible colour combination. | A corner sticker is wrong, e.g. a corner with two opposite colours like white and yellow | Check that corner's three stickers |
| An edge piece has an impossible colour combination. | The same, for an edge | Check that edge's two stickers |
| The same piece appears twice. | One sticker was misread, so another piece's colours appear a second time | Look for the duplicate |
| One corner is twisted. | A misread, or a corner was twisted by hand | Twisted corner |
| One edge is flipped. | A misread, or an edge was put back the wrong way round | Flipped edge |
| Two pieces are swapped. | Two stickers misread, or two pieces swapped when the cube was put back together | Two pieces swapped |
The colour in the sticker-count message is whichever one is off.
Common mistakes
- Scanning in a different order than the arrows show. ScanMyCube works out which face is which from the centres, but a face scanned twice leaves another one missing.
- Peeled or swapped stickers. If stickers have been moved around on the cube, no amount of rescanning helps. Read the lessons linked above.