Gold subscription expires and friends disappear

To confirm, have you also reset the console keeping games and apps?

Thanks for the reply. I have tried all the hardware reset steps. Doesn't help. It works fine while paid subscription is active and stops when payment expires.

Hi, I hope you're doing great out there. I am an Independent advisor and I am here to help you in regard to your concern.

This is not a normal scenario because even if you don't have an Xbox Live Gold subscription you should be able to see your friends still. We may need to perform troubleshooting steps such as extended power cycle and reset your network hardware by following the steps below:

1. Unplug the power cable from the back of the router, modem, or gateway for 5 minutes. If you have a router and a modem, unplug the power cable from both devices.

2. Press and hold the Xbox button on your console for 10 seconds or until it turns off then wait for 2 minutes before turning it on again.

3. After 5 minutes, plug the modem or gateway in first, and wait for all the lights to return to their normal state.

4. If you are using a router, plug in the router and wait for all the lights to return to their normal state.

I do know that any games you got through Games With Gold disappear if your Xbox Live subscription expires.

That's really strange
May I know if you tried cancelling the subscription (or turn off recurring billing instead)
And once the subscription expires, check if a new subscription appears or the double charge disappears