diff --git a/deepspeed/runtime/zero/stage_1_and_2.py b/deepspeed/runtime/zero/stage_1_and_2.py
index f05a53867c93..7e1143ba424b 100644
--- a/deepspeed/runtime/zero/stage_1_and_2.py
+++ b/deepspeed/runtime/zero/stage_1_and_2.py
@@ -64,14 +64,15 @@ def input(msg):
 
 
 def split_half_float_double(tensors):
-    device_type = get_accelerator().device_name()
-    dtypes = [
-        "torch.{}.HalfTensor".format(device_type), "torch.{}.FloatTensor".format(device_type),
-        "torch.{}.DoubleTensor".format(device_type), "torch.{}.BFloat16Tensor".format(device_type)
-    ]
+    # Legacy type strings omit the device prefix on CPU ("torch.FloatTensor"), so
+    # building them from the accelerator device name matches nothing on CPU and
+    # silently drops every gradient bucket, skipping the all-reduce entirely.
+    # Compare dtypes directly so the buckets are device-independent. Sparse layouts
+    # never matched the legacy type strings on any device, so they stay excluded.
+    dtypes = [torch.half, torch.float, torch.double, torch.bfloat16]
     buckets = []
     for i, dtype in enumerate(dtypes):
-        bucket = [t for t in tensors if t.type() == dtype]
+        bucket = [t for t in tensors if t.dtype == dtype and not t.is_sparse]
         if bucket:
             buckets.append(bucket)
     return buckets
diff --git a/tests/unit/common.py b/tests/unit/common.py
index 7d69365ed78b..6705c2b40181 100644
--- a/tests/unit/common.py
+++ b/tests/unit/common.py
@@ -575,8 +575,8 @@ def wrapper(*args: Any, **kwargs: Any):
 def reduce_boolean_flags(flag: bool, op=all) -> bool:
     if not dist.is_initialized():
         return flag
-    device = get_accelerator().current_device()
-    tensor_flag = torch.tensor(1 if flag else 0, dtype=torch.int, device=device)
+    device = get_accelerator().current_device_name()
+    tensor_flag = torch.tensor([1 if flag else 0], dtype=torch.int, device=device)
     world_size = dist.get_world_size()
     tensor_flag_buf = torch.zeros(world_size, dtype=torch.int, device=device)
     dist.all_gather_into_tensor(tensor_flag_buf, tensor_flag)
diff --git a/tests/unit/v1/zero/test_zero.py b/tests/unit/v1/zero/test_zero.py
index a56d873d8408..0fff79d2156a 100644
--- a/tests/unit/v1/zero/test_zero.py
+++ b/tests/unit/v1/zero/test_zero.py
@@ -24,12 +24,33 @@
 from deepspeed.runtime.engine import DeepSpeedEngine
 from deepspeed.runtime.bf16_optimizer import BF16_Optimizer
 from deepspeed.runtime.zero.partition_parameters import ZeroParamStatus
+from deepspeed.runtime.zero.stage_1_and_2 import split_half_float_double
 from deepspeed.utils.zero_to_fp32 import load_state_dict_from_zero_checkpoint
 from deepspeed.runtime.zero.utils import ZeRORuntimeException
 from deepspeed.accelerator import get_accelerator
 from deepspeed.utils import safe_get_full_fp32_param, safe_get_full_grad
 
 
+class TestSplitHalfFloatDouble:
+
+    def test_device_independent_buckets_exclude_sparse(self):
+        # Pins two fixed membership bugs: the legacy accelerator-prefixed type
+        # strings matched nothing on CPU, silently dropping every bucket, and
+        # dtype-only matching would admit sparse layouts, which cannot be
+        # flattened into a dense all-reduce buffer.
+        dense_grads = [
+            torch.zeros(2, dtype=dtype) for dtype in (torch.half, torch.float, torch.double, torch.bfloat16)
+        ]
+        sparse_grad = torch.sparse_coo_tensor(torch.tensor([[0]]), torch.tensor([1.0]), (1, ))
+
+        buckets = split_half_float_double(dense_grads + [sparse_grad])
+
+        assert len(buckets) == 4
+        for bucket, grad in zip(buckets, dense_grads):
+            assert len(bucket) == 1
+            assert bucket[0] is grad
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("zero_stage", [0, 1, 2])
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("gradient_allreduce_op,expected_scale", [("mean", 1.0), ("sum", 2.0)])
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(