Broken Cubes

This may be a touchy subject for some but it has to be said. Don't buy a cube and think its broken when it pops or explodes. It's not broken and it's a big part of cubing. It's these types of emails we get day after day and it's something that all new cubers will have to face at some point.

• Pops - A single piece (or 2) have popped out of your puzzle and they need re-inserting, this is a pop.
• Explosion - Your cube has exploded into what seems like 1000 pieces, this is an explosion.

Pops can be fixed quite easily, if your comfortable doing so, just grab a screw driver and loosen the screw (at the center of the face that has popped) and undo it 1 or 2 FULL TURNS. It's very important to also tighten the screw after the pieces have been re-insterted into the cube and also remember how many turns you made with the screw driver to ensure it goes back to the correct tension, this is why we suggest making full turns only.

If your cube has exploded then you will have to rebuild it (or ship it to us for us to rebuild, there is a fee for this but that depends on which cube it is). There are plenty of videos on YouTube on how to rebuild all types of twisty puzzles and it is something that every single competitive cuber will have to do one day.

A great way to think about popped / exploded cubes is to liken it to a puncture on a bike. You wouldn't class the bike as broken and return it if you got a puncture, you would fix the puncture.

Please Note: Pops are never covered under warranty wherever you shop. Before going strsight for a World Record solve, check the puzzle is okay and tensioned correctly. It doesn't matter if you've just opened the cube from the box, it can still pop instantly if it's too loose or you get a lockup.

Scratched Cubes

Stickerless cubes are the most popular variant of cubes that we sell. Infact, they are the most popular cubes used all across the world. At almost all competitions 95% of cubers will be using stickerless puzzles.

The one bad thing about stickerless puzzles is that they do appear scratched even when they are brand new. This is due to the manufacturing process and cannot be avoided. Some cube brands are worse than others. 

It seems that the UV coating some brands offer will reduce the visibility of these scratches.

Cleaning Your Cube

Following on from the first issue, we have another one that ties in very nicely with an exploded cube. Cleaning it.

Every now and again all cubes should be taken apart and cleaned with a soft microfibre cloth and then re-assembled and re-lubricated. You'll notice when you first take your 6 month old cube apart that it is full of dirt, dust, hair and more!

Warranty

Most cube stores will offer warranty (the good ones anyway). At KewbzUK, you are more than welcome to return any puzzle as long as it is still in a resalable condition and you message us within 7 days of delivery being recorded.

When a broken cube/warranty is concerned, nobody will cover popped cubes as these are not 'broken'. In the event that a single piece is dented/scratched/missing we will cover the piece, not a replacement cube. 
 
This is the same wherever you shop (unless you've purchased from one of the 'fake' Chinese stores) in which case 9/10 people dont get a reply.

Cube Keeps Popping

If your cube keeps popping its likely that the settings are not quite right. All cubes are mass produced and one can slip through the net at QC that means its not quite as tight (or set to the right settings) as it should be. This is an easy fix so dont worry at all.

Our best recommendation would be to take the puzzle apart (most of the time it will be a 3x3 that keeps popping an edge or corner) and check that all of the screws are the same distance away from the core (this means they are equally tensioned and you wont have one face looser than another).

If your cube is a newer flagship (such as the GAN 14 or QiYi Tornado V3) youll notice that you can't tighten these cubes with a screwdriver, they use a newer adjustment mechanism which is much easier to tighten (see instruction manual that comes with the cube for this).