My receiver module was assembled wrong at the factory. I know this to be true because I compared it with the second module that worked just fine.
Symptoms: You power the module, only get a white LED, nothing else.
Here is an image of the module which was assembled wrong:
The two boards were plugged in backwards at the factory.
Solution: Unplug the board with the USB connector, turn it around, and carefully reinsert it into the socket. Here is a photo of the way it should be. Both power connector (from shield board) and the other board with the USB connector should have the connectors face the same way:
Once this is done, when you power up the receiver board, the white LED should come on followed by the green LED on the other board.
I hope this helps someone else.