Ok finally figured out the problem.
The usb slot on the device is a bit too tight , hence my new usb stick was not going in all the way. i had tried in the front and the back usb slots to no avail.
I tried a older usb drive and it was working fine.
On a repeat attempt with a bit of brute force , the usb stick started working on the wd.
It sounds dumb , but yeah the slot or the usb stick was so hard that i felt i had reached the max point of insertion.
Hopefully this helps others.
