Motorola V400

I have had my V400 for a couple for days and had two questions I hope someone can help me with.

1) I seem to have the voicemail symbol always on my screen (even when there is no voicemail). Is there anyway to get the symbol to go away?

2) My phone seems real slow to reacquire service signal. I went to the network menu but the only options there is automatic or selecting 850/1900 or 900/1800. There is no other option. Do I need to upgrade software or something.

Thanks