diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 65bfeee76bc15..d98dbc4cde2db 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -101,6 +101,9 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 - Added a `_Stateful` support for `LightningDataModule` ([#11637](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/pull/11637))
 
 
+- Added `Accelerator.is_available` to check device availability ([#11797](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/pull/11797))
+
+
 ### Changed
 
 - Implemented a new native and rich format in `_print_results` method of the `EvaluationLoop` ([#11332](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/pull/11332))
diff --git a/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/accelerator.py b/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/accelerator.py
index 724b5b6f244c1..06f82fb8d4b96 100644
--- a/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/accelerator.py
+++ b/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/accelerator.py
@@ -59,3 +59,8 @@ def get_device_stats(self, device: Union[str, torch.device]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     @abstractmethod
     def auto_device_count() -> int:
         """Get the device count when set to auto."""
+
+    @staticmethod
+    @abstractmethod
+    def is_available() -> bool:
+        """Detect if the hardware is available."""
diff --git a/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/cpu.py b/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/cpu.py
index 75c55fdf5f047..2fbe3bf18b079 100644
--- a/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/cpu.py
+++ b/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/cpu.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ def setup_environment(self, root_device: torch.device) -> None:
             MisconfigurationException:
                 If the selected device is not CPU.
         """
+        super().setup_environment(root_device)
         if root_device.type != "cpu":
             raise MisconfigurationException(f"Device should be CPU, got {root_device} instead.")
 
@@ -42,3 +43,8 @@ def get_device_stats(self, device: _DEVICE) -> dict[str, Any]:
     def auto_device_count() -> int:
         """Get the devices when set to auto."""
         return 1
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def is_available() -> bool:
+        """CPU is always available for execution."""
+        return True
diff --git a/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/gpu.py b/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/gpu.py
index 3ccf2e4a7f919..aa8b0d56dbf63 100644
--- a/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/gpu.py
+++ b/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/gpu.py
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ def setup_environment(self, root_device: torch.device) -> None:
             MisconfigurationException:
                 If the selected device is not GPU.
         """
+        super().setup_environment(root_device)
         if root_device.type != "cuda":
             raise MisconfigurationException(f"Device should be GPU, got {root_device} instead")
         torch.cuda.set_device(root_device)
@@ -79,6 +80,10 @@ def auto_device_count() -> int:
         """Get the devices when set to auto."""
         return torch.cuda.device_count()
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def is_available() -> bool:
+        return torch.cuda.device_count() > 0
+
 
 def get_nvidia_gpu_stats(device: _DEVICE) -> dict[str, float]:
     """Get GPU stats including memory, fan speed, and temperature from nvidia-smi.
diff --git a/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/ipu.py b/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/ipu.py
index 155dce5275a9b..6928546cf8c50 100644
--- a/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/ipu.py
+++ b/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/ipu.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 import torch
 
 from pytorch_lightning.accelerators.accelerator import Accelerator
+from pytorch_lightning.utilities import _IPU_AVAILABLE
 
 
 class IPUAccelerator(Accelerator):
@@ -31,3 +32,7 @@ def auto_device_count() -> int:
         # TODO (@kaushikb11): 4 is the minimal unit they are shipped in.
         # Update this when api is exposed by the Graphcore team.
         return 4
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def is_available() -> bool:
+        return _IPU_AVAILABLE
diff --git a/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/tpu.py b/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/tpu.py
index 34c37dcd95e7f..f1f598c3f1b3c 100644
--- a/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/tpu.py
+++ b/pytorch_lightning/accelerators/tpu.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 import torch
 
 from pytorch_lightning.accelerators.accelerator import Accelerator
-from pytorch_lightning.utilities import _XLA_AVAILABLE
+from pytorch_lightning.utilities.imports import _TPU_AVAILABLE, _XLA_AVAILABLE
 
 if _XLA_AVAILABLE:
     import torch_xla.core.xla_model as xm
@@ -47,3 +47,7 @@ def get_device_stats(self, device: Union[str, torch.device]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     def auto_device_count() -> int:
         """Get the devices when set to auto."""
         return 8
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def is_available() -> bool:
+        return _TPU_AVAILABLE
diff --git a/tests/accelerators/test_accelerator_connector.py b/tests/accelerators/test_accelerator_connector.py
index 3e2ec15216841..8ceb2de96c59c 100644
--- a/tests/accelerators/test_accelerator_connector.py
+++ b/tests/accelerators/test_accelerator_connector.py
@@ -98,6 +98,7 @@ def test_accelerator_choice_ddp_spawn(cuda_available_mock, device_count_mock):
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.set_device")
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=2)
 @mock.patch("pytorch_lightning.strategies.DDPStrategy.setup_distributed", autospec=True)
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
 def test_accelerator_choice_ddp_slurm(*_):
     with pytest.deprecated_call(match=r"accelerator='ddp'\)` has been deprecated in v1.5"):
         trainer = Trainer(fast_dev_run=True, accelerator="ddp", gpus=2)
@@ -123,6 +124,7 @@ def test_accelerator_choice_ddp_slurm(*_):
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.set_device")
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=2)
 @mock.patch("pytorch_lightning.strategies.DDPStrategy.setup_distributed", autospec=True)
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
 def test_accelerator_choice_ddp2_slurm(*_):
     with pytest.deprecated_call(match=r"accelerator='ddp2'\)` has been deprecated in v1.5"):
         trainer = Trainer(fast_dev_run=True, accelerator="ddp2", gpus=2)
@@ -148,6 +150,7 @@ def test_accelerator_choice_ddp2_slurm(*_):
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.set_device")
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=1)
 @mock.patch("pytorch_lightning.strategies.DDPStrategy.setup_distributed", autospec=True)
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
 def test_accelerator_choice_ddp_te(*_):
     with pytest.deprecated_call(match=r"accelerator='ddp'\)` has been deprecated in v1.5"):
         trainer = Trainer(fast_dev_run=True, accelerator="ddp", gpus=2)
@@ -172,6 +175,7 @@ def test_accelerator_choice_ddp_te(*_):
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.set_device")
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=1)
 @mock.patch("pytorch_lightning.strategies.DDPStrategy.setup_distributed", autospec=True)
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
 def test_accelerator_choice_ddp2_te(*_):
     with pytest.deprecated_call(match=r"accelerator='ddp2'\)` has been deprecated in v1.5"):
         trainer = Trainer(fast_dev_run=True, accelerator="ddp2", gpus=2)
@@ -210,6 +214,7 @@ def test_accelerator_choice_ddp_cpu_te(*_):
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.set_device")
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=1)
 @mock.patch("pytorch_lightning.strategies.DDPStrategy.setup_distributed", autospec=True)
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
 def test_accelerator_choice_ddp_kubeflow(*_):
     with pytest.deprecated_call(match=r"accelerator='ddp'\)` has been deprecated in v1.5"):
         trainer = Trainer(fast_dev_run=True, accelerator="ddp", gpus=1)
@@ -340,6 +345,10 @@ class Accel(Accelerator):
         def auto_device_count() -> int:
             return 1
 
+        @staticmethod
+        def is_available() -> bool:
+            return True
+
     class Prec(PrecisionPlugin):
         pass
 
@@ -735,8 +744,11 @@ def test_strategy_choice_ddp_slurm(setup_distributed_mock, strategy):
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.set_device")
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=2)
 @mock.patch("pytorch_lightning.strategies.DDPStrategy.setup_distributed", autospec=True)
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("strategy", ["ddp2", DDP2Strategy()])
-def test_strategy_choice_ddp2_slurm(set_device_mock, device_count_mock, setup_distributed_mock, strategy):
+def test_strategy_choice_ddp2_slurm(
+    set_device_mock, device_count_mock, setup_distributed_mock, is_available_mock, strategy
+):
     trainer = Trainer(fast_dev_run=True, strategy=strategy, gpus=2)
     assert trainer._accelerator_connector._is_slurm_managing_tasks()
     assert isinstance(trainer.accelerator, GPUAccelerator)
@@ -760,6 +772,7 @@ def test_strategy_choice_ddp2_slurm(set_device_mock, device_count_mock, setup_di
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.set_device")
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=2)
 @mock.patch("pytorch_lightning.strategies.DDPStrategy.setup_distributed", autospec=True)
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
 def test_strategy_choice_ddp_te(*_):
     trainer = Trainer(fast_dev_run=True, strategy="ddp", gpus=2)
     assert isinstance(trainer.accelerator, GPUAccelerator)
@@ -783,6 +796,7 @@ def test_strategy_choice_ddp_te(*_):
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.set_device")
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=2)
 @mock.patch("pytorch_lightning.strategies.DDPStrategy.setup_distributed", autospec=True)
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
 def test_strategy_choice_ddp2_te(*_):
     trainer = Trainer(fast_dev_run=True, strategy="ddp2", gpus=2)
     assert isinstance(trainer.accelerator, GPUAccelerator)
@@ -820,6 +834,7 @@ def test_strategy_choice_ddp_cpu_te(*_):
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.set_device")
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=1)
 @mock.patch("pytorch_lightning.strategies.DDPStrategy.setup_distributed", autospec=True)
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
 def test_strategy_choice_ddp_kubeflow(*_):
     trainer = Trainer(fast_dev_run=True, strategy="ddp", gpus=1)
     assert isinstance(trainer.accelerator, GPUAccelerator)
diff --git a/tests/accelerators/test_cpu.py b/tests/accelerators/test_cpu.py
index 28011aa497eaa..bb3ebfe487fd9 100644
--- a/tests/accelerators/test_cpu.py
+++ b/tests/accelerators/test_cpu.py
@@ -22,6 +22,10 @@ def test_restore_checkpoint_after_pre_setup_default():
     assert not plugin.restore_checkpoint_after_setup
 
 
+def test_availability():
+    assert CPUAccelerator.is_available()
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("restore_after_pre_setup", [True, False])
 def test_restore_checkpoint_after_pre_setup(tmpdir, restore_after_pre_setup):
     """Test to ensure that if restore_checkpoint_after_setup is True, then we only load the state after pre-
diff --git a/tests/accelerators/test_ddp.py b/tests/accelerators/test_ddp.py
index c356ecf935ae1..342b001abf92c 100644
--- a/tests/accelerators/test_ddp.py
+++ b/tests/accelerators/test_ddp.py
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ def test_multi_gpu_model_ddp_fit_test(tmpdir, as_module):
 
 @RunIf(skip_windows=True)
 @pytest.mark.skipif(torch.cuda.is_available(), reason="test doesn't requires GPU machine")
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
 def test_torch_distributed_backend_env_variables(tmpdir):
     """This test set `undefined` as torch backend and should raise an `Backend.UNDEFINED` ValueError."""
     _environ = {"PL_TORCH_DISTRIBUTED_BACKEND": "undefined", "CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES": "0,1", "WORLD_SIZE": "2"}
@@ -90,11 +91,14 @@ def test_torch_distributed_backend_env_variables(tmpdir):
 
 
 @RunIf(skip_windows=True)
-@mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=1)
-@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.set_device")
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=1)
+@mock.patch("pytorch_lightning.accelerators.gpu.GPUAccelerator.is_available", return_value=True)
 @mock.patch.dict(os.environ, {"PL_TORCH_DISTRIBUTED_BACKEND": "gloo"}, clear=True)
-def test_ddp_torch_dist_is_available_in_setup(mock_set_device, mock_is_available, mock_device_count, tmpdir):
+def test_ddp_torch_dist_is_available_in_setup(
+    mock_gpu_is_available, mock_device_count, mock_cuda_available, mock_set_device, tmpdir
+):
     """Test to ensure torch distributed is available within the setup hook using ddp."""
 
     class TestModel(BoringModel):
diff --git a/tests/accelerators/test_dp.py b/tests/accelerators/test_dp.py
index f24876197a5f4..9173db2644d77 100644
--- a/tests/accelerators/test_dp.py
+++ b/tests/accelerators/test_dp.py
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@
 # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
+from unittest import mock
+
 import pytest
 import torch
 import torch.nn.functional as F
@@ -154,9 +156,10 @@ def _assert_extra_outputs(self, outputs):
         assert out.dtype is torch.float
 
 
-def test_dp_raise_exception_with_batch_transfer_hooks(tmpdir, monkeypatch):
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=2)
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
+def test_dp_raise_exception_with_batch_transfer_hooks(mock_is_available, mock_device_count, tmpdir):
     """Test that an exception is raised when overriding batch_transfer_hooks in DP model."""
-    monkeypatch.setattr("torch.cuda.device_count", lambda: 2)
 
     class CustomModel(BoringModel):
         def transfer_batch_to_device(self, batch, device, dataloader_idx):
diff --git a/tests/accelerators/test_gpu.py b/tests/accelerators/test_gpu.py
index 110ba1be9a82c..dc3d76cd866e7 100644
--- a/tests/accelerators/test_gpu.py
+++ b/tests/accelerators/test_gpu.py
@@ -60,3 +60,8 @@ def test_set_cuda_device(set_device_mock, tmpdir):
     )
     trainer.fit(model)
     set_device_mock.assert_called_once()
+
+
+@RunIf(min_gpus=1)
+def test_gpu_availability():
+    assert GPUAccelerator.is_available()
diff --git a/tests/accelerators/test_ipu.py b/tests/accelerators/test_ipu.py
index 3a250de38a7a8..861b149733c0c 100644
--- a/tests/accelerators/test_ipu.py
+++ b/tests/accelerators/test_ipu.py
@@ -106,6 +106,7 @@ def test_fail_if_no_ipus(tmpdir):
 
 @RunIf(ipu=True)
 def test_accelerator_selected(tmpdir):
+    assert IPUAccelerator.is_available()
     trainer = Trainer(default_root_dir=tmpdir, ipus=1)
     assert isinstance(trainer.accelerator, IPUAccelerator)
     trainer = Trainer(default_root_dir=tmpdir, ipus=1, accelerator="ipu")
diff --git a/tests/accelerators/test_tpu.py b/tests/accelerators/test_tpu.py
index a4eb26a4bc505..608d98304c757 100644
--- a/tests/accelerators/test_tpu.py
+++ b/tests/accelerators/test_tpu.py
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ def test_if_test_works_after_train(tmpdir):
 
 @RunIf(tpu=True)
 def test_accelerator_tpu():
+    assert TPUAccelerator.is_available()
 
     trainer = Trainer(accelerator="tpu", tpu_cores=8)
 
diff --git a/tests/models/test_gpu.py b/tests/models/test_gpu.py
index a3d9977b31c80..c494c0c1c18e6 100644
--- a/tests/models/test_gpu.py
+++ b/tests/models/test_gpu.py
@@ -235,8 +235,9 @@ def test_parse_gpu_returns_none_when_no_devices_are_available(mocked_device_coun
     },
 )
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=1)
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("gpus", [[0, 1, 2], 2, "0"])
-def test_torchelastic_gpu_parsing(mocked_device_count, gpus):
+def test_torchelastic_gpu_parsing(mocked_device_count, mocked_is_available, gpus):
     """Ensure when using torchelastic and nproc_per_node is set to the default of 1 per GPU device That we omit
     sanitizing the gpus as only one of the GPUs is visible."""
     trainer = Trainer(gpus=gpus)
diff --git a/tests/plugins/test_amp_plugins.py b/tests/plugins/test_amp_plugins.py
index 24c04de6604ef..f3a5504f398ed 100644
--- a/tests/plugins/test_amp_plugins.py
+++ b/tests/plugins/test_amp_plugins.py
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ class MyApexPlugin(ApexMixedPrecisionPlugin):
         "SLURM_LOCALID": "0",
     },
 )
+@mock.patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=True)
 @mock.patch("torch.cuda.device_count", return_value=2)
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("strategy,gpus", [("ddp", 2), ("ddp2", 2), ("ddp_spawn", 2)])
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
@@ -56,7 +57,7 @@ class MyApexPlugin(ApexMixedPrecisionPlugin):
         pytest.param("apex", True, MyApexPlugin, marks=RunIf(amp_apex=True)),
     ],
 )
-def test_amp_apex_ddp(mocked_device_count, strategy, gpus, amp, custom_plugin, plugin_cls):
+def test_amp_apex_ddp(mocked_device_count, mocked_is_available, strategy, gpus, amp, custom_plugin, plugin_cls):
     plugin = None
     if custom_plugin:
         plugin = plugin_cls(16, "cpu") if amp == "native" else plugin_cls()
diff --git a/tests/utilities/test_cli.py b/tests/utilities/test_cli.py
index 3809b8b3e2eb6..9fc994e2e4338 100644
--- a/tests/utilities/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/utilities/test_cli.py
@@ -184,6 +184,7 @@ def test_parse_args_parsing_complex_types(cli_args, expected, instantiate):
 def test_parse_args_parsing_gpus(monkeypatch, cli_args, expected_gpu):
     """Test parsing of gpus and instantiation of Trainer."""
     monkeypatch.setattr("torch.cuda.device_count", lambda: 2)
+    monkeypatch.setattr("torch.cuda.is_available", lambda: True)
     cli_args = cli_args.split(" ") if cli_args else []
     with mock.patch("sys.argv", ["any.py"] + cli_args):
         parser = LightningArgumentParser(add_help=False, parse_as_dict=False)